Road damages total $350,000 from March’s storm devastation
News April 7, 2021
GILMER COUNTY, Ga. – The “third worst storm” in recent history is what Public Works Director Jim Smith called the surge in late March. Smith noted a “preliminary damage report” saying that totals are estimated between $300,000 and $350,000 for road and public works repairs and cleanup. However, that is the preliminary estimate offered to FEMA and GEMA this week.
With the vast majority of that costs in road damage, reports have come that over 80 roads in the county were damaged in some manner. Smith made his comment about the storm being the “third worst” in reference to his two decades of service in Gilmer County.
Public Works Director Jim Smith addresses the BOC regarding the late March storms and the lasting damage.
Additional costs comes from debris removal that the county is performing. However, in outer parts of the county, people have been burning debris in ditches in controlled burns as they are also trying to clean up from the storm.
Smith said the storm has not been declared a disaster yet. But noted that a visit from FEMA and GEMA this week was part of that process so that the Governor could declare it a disaster. Damage assessments, meetings, and reports are all included in that process. Smith said, “The Governor can declare it a disaster and then, in turn, submit his request to Homeland Security, FEMA, and on to the President.”
Smith also noted that Gilmer was reported as one of the worst hit of the roughly 8-10 counties being inspected.
The $350,000 estimate only includes the report from Public Works. More damage has come to other departments like Parks & Recreation and the Golf Course. Including that, Smith commented today that the totals could come closer to $450,000 in total, but no detailed calculation has been officially made yet.
Even today, Hill Road remains closed as the county has awaited manufactured pipes and is currently installing them as part of the repair. The county is continuing the cleanup and repair process as they await a disaster declaration that could bring emergency aid funds to the county to reimburse some of the costs that have already been incurred and paid.
Disaster strikes Gilmer with Major flooding
News March 26, 2021
GILMER COUNTY, Ga. – Stranded cars, road washouts, mudslides, and many other dangers have already been reported to Gilmer County Public Safety late tonight amid continued flooding, March 25, 2021, as they continue planning and responding to the issues present in the night.
Officials are calling for citizens to remain indoors tonight with flashlights ready as any homes have already lost power. They are suggesting people charge your cell phones immediately in case of these situations.
Gilmer County Schools have already issued a delay to school starting tomorrow, Friday, March 26, 2021. According to the school system, “Storms overnight are expected to cause additional downed trees, power outages, and flooding.”
In the interest of safety, the schools have instituted a 2-hour-delay as of now. The statement said they will send out a text-blast to parents in the morning.
With the continuing rain forecasted well into the early hours of Friday, Gilmer County Public Safety released a statement on the river in Ellijay saying, “The United States Geological Survey is predicting the Coosawattee River to crest at 14.7′ around 7:00AM. That’s nearly 4′ above major flood level – and extremely…extremely dangerous. We cannot stress enough that no one should be driving through ANY flooded area. There are already hidden washouts, mudslides, stranded cars, roads and trees under water, and other dangers we do not even know of as yet.
Please, please stay at home Friday morning for a few hours. We will keep you informed about the conditions in the county as they change.”
Along with their statement comes reports of several places already under water or expected to be by morning including the Pilgrims’ Pride parking lot. The American Legion building is already flooded under several feet of water as is the Georgia Power Substation and Harold Hefner River Park.
Public Safety has also reported that State Highway 52 will be closing at 15 feet of flooding.
With plans in place for evacuations and recovery, Public Safety is working through the current storm alongside GEMA, the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia, and local authorities.
A Tornado Watch has also been issued until 2 a.m.
According to the National Weather Service, “Expect minor damage to tree limbs and blowing around of light…unsecured objects. Heavy rain may cause temporary street flooding especially in poor drainage areas.”
Several people have already reported driveways washing out, culverts displacing, and roads submerged and uncrossable. Public Safety is responding and should be contacted in cases of emergency.
Tropical Storm Zeta closes most of Gilmer with outages
News October 29, 2020
ELLIJAY, Ga, – Gilmer County is picking up the pieces today after Tropical Storm Zeta tore through the twin cities early this morning. Massive Power outages, closures, road blocks, debris, and damage are continuing to accumulate today as citizens are beginning the clean-up process.
Gilmer County Citizens and Gilmer Public Safety help in cutting and removing fallen trees from Highway 382 after Tropical Storm Zeta.
Both Gilmer’s County Offices and School System have closed today with only minor amounts of staff reporting if they are safe to do so. Emergency Officials are responding as well, but not alone today. Gilmer County Public Safety posted a photo this morning (right) as they were aided by citizens on Highway 382 in cutting and removing trees blocking the major road.
The Sheriff’s Office posted a statement today saying, “We have all of our available personnel, along with Gilmer Public Safety, Fire/EMS, utility crews, and phone company crews making their way to try and clear trees and roadways of debris along with restoring power as quickly as possible. Our dispatchers are inundated with calls about downed trees and power outages.”
Debris has fallen over most of the county and blocked some from leaving homes until they can clear it themselves or find help from neighbors.
The Sheriff’s Office is also asking citizens to direct power outage calls to your local utility company and phone and cable outages to your phone/cable provider so as not to overwhelm the department as they deal with emergencies coming from the storm. Heavy flow of calls to 911 about downed trees and outages could clog the lines and possibly prevent someone with a life-threatening emergency from connecting.
However, downed live power lines in areas and on roads should be immediately reported to 911 and avoided.
According to Amicalola EMC, over 38,000 customers from just their own company have been affected by outages and the cast majority of those are still without power as of 1:30 p.m. Gilmer County alone has a report of 11,700 customers without power.
With over 11,700 homes without power in Gilmer alone, emergency crews and power company crews are spread thin across the area attempting to respond and recover from the damgage.
Officials are asking that if you must travel today, “Please use extreme caution. We strongly suggest staying at home for a while, as most business will be without power or otherwise closed.”
The Sheriff’s Office asked for patience from citizens saying that officials and power workers are working as diligently as possible. In an effort to help customers understand the process, Amicalola EMC stated, “A substantial number of trees are down in every county, with a high number falling across our power lines, bringing the lines and power poles down with them. Our crews must first gain access to the damaged area, survey the damage, then begin a plan of action. Every storm is unique with its own characteristics, sometimes making storm restoration efforts more difficult than other times. Please be assured that our crews are out working and will restore power to every member just as soon as is safely possible. We know there will most likely be numerous poles to replace, and we will give updates as the information becomes available.”
Road closures are changing today as new areas are discovered and other areas are restored. Readers can stay up to date on these closures through Gilmer’s Public Safety and Road Conditions pages for social media.
Authorities say runway damage needs only minor repairs
News October 7, 2020
ELLIJAY, Ga. – According to the Directors of both Public Safety and Public Works, Gilmer County may see minimal to no immediate costs for repairs to the Gilmer Airport runway after this week’s incident.
After a single-engine Super Decathlon crashed on the runway on Monday, authorities have been dealing with the incident, the pilot, and an FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) investigation.
Today, in a Board of Commissioners meeting, Public Works Director Jim Smith said that it appears that the incident is not due to a fault in the airport. Although he said it could have been caused by something like pilot error, he told FYN that he had no specific details or answers as the FAA is in charge of the investigation.
With the occupants healthy and able to walk away and the FAA Investigators gone from the grounds, damage assessments have come back positive with only minor repairs detailed.
When asked about the runway damages, Smith said that the Public Works Department has engineers looking at the area as minor surface damage including small grooves that had been sustained by the runway. Smith said that the damages would be covered by the insurance of the pilot.
Additionally, FYN reported that a runway light had been damaged during the issue. According to Public Safety Director Keith Kucera, a light was struck, but it only damaged the lens and did not completely destroy the light. As such, the airport keeps spare lenses for minor replacements as needed, so the light repair was handled by the airport crew.
Kucera also said that the cause of the incident was not in the information available to him as the FAA performed all the interviews and investigation and he was not a part of that process.
Smith said that Public Works could fill in the scratches and grooves with a rubberized caulk material similar to what citizens might see on highway cracks. He indicated that the runway was fine for use either way as the FAA reported yesterday that the facility and runway were cleared for use. However, he did note that the FAA inspector pointed out that repairs may be needed for these areas. He reiterated that they are awaiting the engineers to inspect the site and report back.
With damage assessments able to be handled in-house, the county has not seen any immediate damages costs from the incidents. This along with the fact that both occupants of the plane were able to walk away from the crash with only minor injuries, the largest part of the accident seems to be the plane itself that, according to current understanding, lost part of its landing gear and had its prop hit the runway before