Restorations are underway county-wide in the wake of local destruction caused by Hurricane Helene late last week.
As previously reported by WACO 100, the storm caused “historic havoc” when it entered middle Georgia still categorized as a hurricane.
Gusting 75 mph winds and 2-day rainfall totals of 10.5 inches helped to uproot trees and in-turn uproot many families from their homes.
Now, four days removed, while some citizens are beginning to regain normalcy – in the sense of power, phone reception, and internet – many others remain literally in the dark.
Following the widespread devastation left behind on late Thursday and early Friday, Washington EMC stated that nearly 200 outage locations resulted in over 15,000 members having no electricity.
After 4 days of near non-stop and tireless work by lineman from near and far, more than 7,000 members have seen power restored. Washington EMC ended Monday with fewer than 8,000 members remaining on their listing of restorations.
With multiple out-of-county cooperatives rushing to the area in attempts to provide aid, 250 line workers are now tag-teaming efforts to restore electricity as quickly and effectively as possible.
“These guys are working from sun up to sun down. Under the circumstances of devastation that we have seen, the current number of restorations is an amazing feat. Our crews are second to none in the business,” said a statement from Washington EMC. “We are so appreciative to our members for their patience and understanding through all of this. On Tuesday, we are planning to have approximately 145 workers in the southern part of our territory and just over 100 workers in the northern part. The southern portion saw more destruction and it has been a slower process, but we are dedicating resources to do everything that we can to clear those lines.”
Washington EMC headquarters office in Sandersville is open and operating as normal this week. Their branch offices in Sparta and Wrightsville currently remain closed.
The electric cooperative states that late fees on bills will not be charged during this time of emergency.
“Please understand that the damage we have experienced is extensive. Due to this, we are not able to give accurate times of restoration for specific locations,” said the statement from Wash EMC. “Restoration will take late into next week at the earliest to restore power to everyone.”
For those within the city limits of Sandersville, over 50 lineman are working to restore power.
According to the City, responding lineman from as far as Massachusetts are currently assisting the efforts.
“We also want to thank our community partners and some of our local businesses who have helped get our crews fed by providing us with hot meals, including our local Subway, Diesel Donuts, IGA, and Tennille Quik Mart. In times like this, it is great to be a small town,” said a statement from the City of Sandersville.
The statement goes on to say that outages in the City are also expected for a few more days.
Additionally, the City of Sandersville explains why downed trees are being pushed to roadsides rather than being hauled away.
“Because this is a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster, there are certain rules and procedures we have to follow with regards to storm cleanup. In order to ensure that we receive the 85 percent reimbursement between FEMA and the State, we must follow their rules – meaning a slower process for clean-up. Please know that we are committed to getting us back to normal as quickly and safely as possible.”
City Hall and other departments returned to regular operating hours today.
For individuals in the current clean-up process of collecting tree limbs from yards, note that there is a burn ban in the City of Sandersville. Citizens are advised to not burn debris without prior approval.
According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, crews finalized clearing all removable debris from District 2 state routes on Monday.
The Georgia DOT did note, however, that some debris cannot be taken away, as it is wrapped in power lines and the DOT must wait for a responding utility company to deem the trees safe to handle.
Crews spent a portion of their work on Monday also revisiting previously ruled “cleared” locations to further push debris from the side of the roadway, allowing more room on the shoulder for further safety.
The Georgia DOT is now shifting focus to repairing signs across the District, riding routes to determine the extent of damage and collecting video to compare with archived film to decide where uprooted signs need to be replaced.
The Department of Transportation continues to ask for only essential travel on roadways at this time.
A called meeting of the Washington County Board of Commissioners was held on Monday afternoon to discuss countywide disaster response efforts. Further information is to be released on Tuesday.
* * * Photos Courtesy of David Brooker and Washington EMC * * *
