Thousands without power in storm

ELLIJAY, Ga. – According to the website information from Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation, over 7,500 people have lost power during the storm within their coverage alone.

Response Crews and power workers have been assigned in areas and are continuing to work towards restoring power to the areas even as the remnants of the storm continuing pouring rain throughout the county. With Gilmer reaching over 3,600 homes without power, Pickens reaching over 1,790 without power, Lumpkin reaching over 1,100 without power, And more than 1,000 stretched across five other counties, the storm has darkened large swaths of areas across North Georgia.

Earlier in the night, Amicalola EMC released a statement saying, “As you know, strong winds and heavy rains just passed through our service area, leaving widespread power outages. Over 5400 members are out, at 164 separate locations across our 10 county service area. Trees are down in many areas, lying across power lines. Please stay away from any downed power lines. All outages will be assessed and a plan of restoration formed just as soon as is safely possible. Report outages to 706-253-0359 or 706-276-0359 or 706-864-0359. STAY AWAY from any downed power lines and always assume lines are still energized. Thank you for your patience.”

Additionally, both Amicalola and ETC have been overwhelmed with incoming calls from people experiencing issues. Amicalola confirmed there was an issue with having every incoming line busy and is continuing to work towards attending every report. They stated, “If you are not able to get through, please wait a few minutes, then try again.”