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ZEBULON - On Thursday September 26, 2024, Pike County was a part of a historical warning as Hurricane Helene came up from Florida and was projected to go through the middle of the state. Inches and more inches of water were dumped from rain gauges as the water came down, and Helene shifted to the east in the early morning hours of Friday, September 27.

That subtle shift still brought down trees overnight because the winds were high, and the trees were sitting in saturated ground, but it saved Pike County from the wind shears and tornadoes that were predicted to come with the storm as it came through the state.

A lot of planning and coordination went into how Pike County responded to this storm system. And every situation is different, but the county put past knowledge and current ideas together to keep citizens safe overnight as Hurricane Helene came through our county and state.

Being Prepared

The Georgia Department of Transportation predicted high rainfall amounts, extremely damaging winds, and potential flash flooding with Hurricane Helene.

Pike County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Jim Totten prepared the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and meetings, updates, and phone calls went through the night and into Friday morning as trees fell and blocked roads or fell on propane tanks and people ventured out on the roads while the storm was ongoing for work, etc.

Major David Neal advised that the E-911 Center received emergency calls for 16 road obstructions including flooding and trees going down as well as 3 storm related traffic accidents.

The Pike County Commissioners Office, Public Works, the Pike County Fire Department, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, and Pike EMA worked together to keep people safe in Pike County before, during, and after the storm.

Coordination included cutting trees, blocking off flooded roadways, and responding to emergency calls as well as getting information to the media and on Facebook for the public.

Major Neal praised those who left their families to come in and work through the storm. "We are proud of all of our deputies, dispatchers, and jail staff that worked long hours during the hurricane."

Emergency Management Agency

Pike EMA Director Jim Totten and Fire Chief Bobby Wilkerson stayed in the EOC throughout the event. They were joined by Public Works Director Chris Goodman and Public Works Employees Joe Bigler and Wesley Bunn. Public Works Employee Corey Brinson came in about 1:30 a.m. to join the crew.

County Clerk Angela Blount got information out about road closures and re-openings through the night and into the next couple of days.

Totten praised Public Works for their work throughout the night of the storm. “People in Pike County were asleep, and they ran these roads to keep the roads open,” he said.

Totten has been volunteering as the EMA Director here for 11 years and said that the coordination here was amazing!

Public Works

Public Works Director Goodman said that the night of the storm started out slow with an isolated tree falling here or there, but by 1:30 a.m. the trees started coming down and the flooding began.

Director Goodman and Public Works Employees Joe Bigler and Wesley Bunn were at the EOC all night and Public Works Employee Corey Brinson came in about 1:30 a.m. to join the crew.

The hours of the storm hit Pike County in the early morning hours around 4:30 to 5:30 a.m. And the rest of the Public Works employees were steady working to clear roads as soon as they came into work at 6:30 a.m.

Goodman advised that only one road was completely washed out in the storm. Perkins Road, located between Hwy 19-41 and Kendrick Road, completely blew its culverts. It will need to have culvert replacements, and there is no estimated time of completion at this time.

He advised that there was isolated flooding that will be reassessed this week.

“I’m very pleased with how the guys worked at Public Works,” he said. “They all stepped up and did their part.”

Fire Department

Fire Chief Bobby Wilkerson said that the biggest concern was getting out to calls and keeping people safe while doing that. He said that as the next morning began, fire department personnel went from call to call responding to emergencies.

Three fire stations were staffed with members who responded from the closest station to each call as the calls came in. Concord, Williamson, and Zebulon firefighters responded to each call and requested other resources as needed at each call.

The calls started at daylight. Two calls were from places where trees fell on propane tanks.

All trucks were in use working emergency calls. The travel distance wasn’t far from the manned stations.

He also said that volunteers were on call as well but that the fire department was trying to keep people off of the roads during the storm for safety. “Fortunately we didn’t have to call them,” he said.

Wilkerson praised Public Works employees for their work to clear the roads during and after the storm.

He especially praised Director Chris Goodman and employees Brinson, Bigler, Bunn for working all night to clear roads and then remaining the next day to continue working to clear the roads until closing time. “Public Works did an amazing job,” he said.

Wilkerson also praised EMA Director Totten for doing an amazing job.

Totten coordinated for this and planned for the worst, but the storm spared us when it went to the east. Plans included preparation for 60 mile per hour winds in our area with plan to respond as quickly and safely as possible.

The Concord Fire Station was available for members of the community who needed shelter from the storm throughout the night, and preparation had been made with the school system for overflow if it had been needed.

He said that calls came in throughout the night from individuals and companies who were willing help out with their equipment during the storm too.

“Thank goodness we didn’t have to implement it all, but we were as ready as we could be,” Wilkerson said.

Thanks were extended to the Pike County Board of Commissioners, Interim County Manager Rob Morton, the School Board, and each of the mayors of the cities in Pike County for their help and cooperation in preparing for this storm.

“Pike is amazing with how involved and caring that people are!” Wilkerson said.

Closing

There was flooding and trees down throughout the county, but the response was quick from the county, and Southern Rivers Energy crews came in to help when the trees were tangled in power lines and restored power as needed.

National Weather Service rainfall totals in our area over the past 7 days include 11.32 inches at the Flint River below Big Branch, 10.30 inches at Potato Creek at County Line Road in Orchard Hill, and 7.67 inches at the Flint River near Thomaston. [Note from the Editor: Go to https://ga.water.usgs.gov/realtime/rainfall.php to do some digging on rainfall. It's fascinating!]

Southern Rivers had asked residents to prepare for up to ten days without power if the projected winds had come through the area, but the storm spared Pike County from the massive damage and power outages that are still ongoing in counties to the east of us.

Southern Rivers gave a thank you to their line crews, field service, and office personnel, Lumbee River EMC, East Coast Electric Construction, Harper’s Tree Services, Utilicon and Sumter Utilities for their assistance during the storm.

Southern Rivers has also said that since restoration is completed in this area--and crews have been able to get some hard-earned rest--it's their time to pay it forward.

Two 4 man crews have been assisting with restoration at Ocmulgee EMC in Eastman, Georgia since Sunday morning. When they finish, crew members will continue to assist with other southeast co-ops as needed with swapping out crews every week if needed.

"We remain humbled and thankful that the Lord spared our co-op and our members from Hurricane Helene's devastating path. Please pray for the safety of our crews and for everyone affected by this unprecedented storm."

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