Power returned to Liberty County residents throughout the week as dozens of utility crews descended upon coastal Georgia over the weekend.

Hurricane Helene hit Georgia as a category 2 storm and lashed Liberty County with sustained gusts of 58 mph, Liberty County Emergency Management Agency director Bob Dodd said.

While the storm brought just over 2 inches of rain to the county, its winds caused damage across the county, Dodd told county commissioners Tuesday night. 

Liberty EMA has nine damage assessment teams canvassing the county, and the EMA reports that 536 homes were affected by storm damage. Seventy homes received minor damage, 34 received major damage and four were destroyed, for a total of 644 homes impacted by Helene.

The storm resulted in one death in Liberty County. A Woodland Lakes woman was killed after a tree fell on her trailer during the storm. Coroner Reggie Pierce confirmed her identity as 69-year-old Sandra Carpenter.

First responders were pulled off the road when sustained winds reached speeds that were unsafe for them, Dodd said, and a shelter-in-place order was issued. 

Alerts were issued to phones across the county on the shelter-in-place and Dodd also encouraged residents to make sure they are following the correct social media platforms. There is a Liberty County in Florida, just west of Tallahassee and not far from where Helene made landfall, he pointed out. 

Dodd said all Liberty County schools have power. Students returned to class Thursday. 

On September 27, more than 13,000 of Georgia Power’s 17,858 Liberty County customers were without power. Early Thursday morning, that number was down to 35 customers in Liberty and down to nine out of nearly 2,570 Long County customers. Coastal EMC’s outage map showed none of its Liberty County customers affected as of early Thursday morning.

Power outages were widespread and virtually complete throughout coastal Georgia and across the state, as Georgia Power determined Hurricane Helene was the most destructive hurricane in its history, damaging infrastructure across the state. The company’s initial estimates put Helene’s damage at:

• More than 8,000 power poles to be repaired or replace.

• More than 21,000 spans of wire, equivalent to nearly 1,000 miles.

• More than 1,500 transformers.

• More than 3,200 trees on power lines.

Alabama Power has set up a staging area for crews at Highways 84 and 196 East. The staging area includes sleeping trailers, fuel, food tent, showers and port-o-lets. There is breakfast and team meeting each day at 6:30 a.m. for updates, safety information, and work assignments. Crews return after dark.

Contract crews include line workers, tree crews, hydrovac trucks and traffic control and there is representation from at least 50 companies, including some from Canada, according Alabama Power. There are 30 employees from Alabama Power’s Southern and Southeast divisions and logistics teams from other Alabama Power locations. 

At the command center, crews check in after work to report accomplishments, resources needs and estimated times of restoration, or ETRs. The command center team then clears trouble, updates numbers and allocates resources for the next day and provides additional equipment, contact numbers and updates maps and ETRs during the day.

The county and the municipalities have activated a debris collection contract, with debris pickup scheduled to start October 14. Contractors will pick up yard debris such as limbs and leaves, but some material is not eligible for pickup, Dodd said, “not fences, not gates, not barbecue grills.”

Also, yard debris must not be placed in a bag. Residents are asked to place debris either in their right-of-way or curbside.

“Contractors cannot come on private property,” Dodd said of the debris pickup. 

Following past storm events, some residents have been approached by contractors claiming to represent a government entity with the promise that they will be reimbursed for their payment. Contractors engaged by state, local, or federal agencies will not demand payment in this manner, EMA officials stressed.

As residences and businesses had power restored, long lines began forming at gas stations that were open for business Friday and Saturday.

Private water companies also issued boil water advisories to customers in the Helene’s wake. 

When water systems lose pressure during a power outage, there is a risk of water contamination. Once power is restored, the water utility company must test the water before it’s safe for customers to use again.

If your community is under a boil water advisory, you’re advised to either use bottled water or boil all tap water prior to use for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, or preparing baby food.

To properly boil water:

• Fill a pot with water.

• Heat the water until bubbles come from the bottom of the pot to the top.

• Once the water reaches a rolling boil, let it boil for at least 1 minute.

• Turn off the heat source and let the water cool.

• Pour the water into a clean container with a cover for storage.

Residents with private wells that have flooded are also advised to boil water for consumption. Your well is considered flooded if your well casing has been submerged in water anytime during or after the impact of Hurricane Helene.

Residents should continue to boil their water until they are notified by their drinking water utility that the water system has been restored to full operation and the water is safe to drink.

Dodd also reminded residents that hurricane season is not over until November 30. He and his EMA team conducted 18 public education sessions in advance of this year’s hurricane season.

“My hat’s off to you,” Commissioner Marion Stevens said to Dodd. “Y’all did a dang good job.”