Devastating. Tragic. Unprecedented. Historic.
Those are just a few of the words used to describe the fury Hurricane Helene unleashed on Pierce County and southeast Georgia late Thursday night, Sept. 26 and early Friday morning, Sept. 27.
The category 4 storm roared ashore in the Big Bend region of Florida’s Gulf Coast and raced northward across southeast Georgia before dissipating in the Tennessee Valley.
The storm killed one person in Pierce County. Blackshear Assistant Fire Chief Leon Davis died answering a call early Friday morning. (See related story.)
County emergency officials including Pierce County Sheriff Ramsey Bennett, Public Safety Director Blake James, Blackshear Police Chief Chris Wright and Patterson Police Chief Nick Strickland all urged citizens to have patience with the recovery efforts.
“I thank the people of Pierce
Tim Mathis was working out of town when the storm hit. He got home to his family as soon as possible, finding a big job waiting on him. Two massive pine trees had fallen in his front yard, one narrowly missing the house, clipping the corner and taking out the carport. Working alongside father-in-law Ronnie Spikes, Mathis planned on taking his wife Brandy and their two children with him back up to Atlanta until power is restored and school is back in session.
Widespread destruction could be seen county-wide Friday morning after Helene tore her way through South Georgia and up into the Carolinas.
A line of customers waiting to purchase generators at the Ace Farmers and Builders in Blackshear. With days of no power, generators were suddenly much in demand.
County for their patience in dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane,” said the Sheriff. “For the most part, everyone has been kind and considerate of one another despite less than ideal circumstances. I know it is a hard thing to do, but I ask them to continue to be patient as we recover from this terrible, awful storm.”
Wright and Strickland have helped to coordinate recovery efforts in Blackshear and Patterson, respectively, while James has coordinated relief efforts county-wide.
All four men agreed the storm was the worst in recent memory.
“Hurricane Helene punched us in the mouth,” one of them observed.
The center of Helene passed just west of Pierce County in the wee hours Friday as a category 2 hurricane with winds of over 100 miles per hour.
Alma’s airport reported the highest wind gust in the state during the storm with gusts clocked at 100 miles per hour.
Local emergency officials observed readings of 97 m.p.h. in the northern part of the county and 98 m.p.h. in Blackshear at the height of the storm.
According to the National Weather Service, those readings would make Hurricane Helene the strongest storm to pass through Pierce County since Hurricane David in 1979. Before that, the only other listing in the record books is a Category 4 storm that struck Cumberland Island and swept inland through Pierce County Oct. 2, 1898.
Rainfall amounts of up to 2 inches were reported in the storm, but no widespread flooding was reported.
The storm severely disabled power distribution systems for both Georgia Power and Satilla Rural Electric Membership Corporation (REMC). Georgia Power serves the cities of Blackshear, Patterson, Offerman and some sites in the Okefenokee Golf Club area while Satilla REMC serves the rural, unincorporated areas of the county, as well as several other counties in Southeast Georgia.
At the height of the storm, both Georgia Power and Satilla REMC reported outages for practically 100 percent of their customers.
Power lines were down all over cities and counties with many power poles toppled, broken by fallen trees or tangled in the wind into tree tops.
Power and clean-up crews arrived Saturday to begin the recovery process with teams from Alabama Power, Sumter Utilities and from as far away as Kentucky coming to aid local residents.
At press time, Georgia Power had made significant progress with restoring electricity in Blackshear, but Patterson and Offerman remained largely in the dark. Satilla REMC still reported outages in Pierce County at 89 percent of its customers. Restoration efforts were hampered by having to rebuild the power distribution system including high voltage lines, sub stations and power lines.
Georgia Power has notified local customers it expects to have most power restored by 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5.
A spokesperson for the state’s EMCs said some areas are expected to be out of power for at least a full week and even longer in the hardest hit areas.
Sheriff Bennett said the north and west sides of the county appear to have taken the brunt of the storm.
Downed trees were reported on homes and across all roads in the county.
Disaster relief teams from the Red Cross and other benevolent organizations began arriving over the weekend to lend aid.
In addition to power disruption, cell phone and internet service was disrupted county-wide.
A Red Cross shelter has been opened at the Pierce County Gym, 705 College Avenue, Blackshear. The shelter was still open at press time.
Local churches, restaurants and businesses and out-of-town food trucks have teamed up to provide meals to residents in the aftermath of the storm.
Supplies of gas, ice and water were in short supply over the weekend, but relief started coming Monday as power was restored to the business district in Blackshear and relief agencies brought in supplies.
A familiar scene from the last few days in Pierce County. Officials are still assessing the total number of homes damaged by Hurricane Helene.
photo courtesy of BPD Chief Chris Wright
