Kemp stops at power crew staging site on post-Helene tour

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp made an early morning appearance in Laurens County Wednesday, surveying damage and thanking linemen and relief crews working to restore power after Hurricane Helene ravaged the state. 

Kemp, who has been touring some of the hardest hit areas since the storm crossed Georgia last week, met with Georgia Power officials and workers, who have set up a staging camp at Southern Pines Recreational Park. Crews were already loading into bucket trucks and preparing for the day’s work as the governor arrived at the complex before sunrise. 

“It’s complete devastation out there,” Kemp said. “Every county we get to, people are saying this is as bad as we’ve ever seen it. I remind them that it is like this from Valdosta to Augusta, 200 to 250 miles wide. So, we’re dealing with an unprecedented storm.” 

Georgia Power officials are calling the storm the most destructive hurricane to ever cross the state. The utility company suffered 1.2 million outages statewide, which were about 80 percent restored by Wednesday morning. The company currently had a response team about 20,000 people strong, built from crews across the state and as far away as California.

An additional 1,000 troops from the Georgia National Guard were activated Tuesday, flying supplies via helicopter to areas still in need of relief, including Laurens County. Forty-one counties have been declared a federal disaster zone. Kemp said he hoped more would be added to the list. The state fuel tax has also been suspended. 

“A tremendous amount of work has been completed, but we still have a long way to go,” he said.  

Helene wreaked havoc from the North Georgia mountains to the coastline. Atlanta received record rainfall, causing flooding in the capital city. Residents were evacuated south of Lake Rabun as water was released downstream from the swelling reservoir.

“On top of everything we’re dealing with down here, we’re dealing with those issues, too,” Kemp said. “That, and the flash flooding, has started to subside and that’s why you are starting to see more resources move to this side of the state.” 

After leaving Laurens County, Kemp headed to Johnson County, where more than 3,000 outages remained, according to the latest data from Georgia Power and the state’s EMCs. Johnson County is mostly served by Washington EMC, which as of Tuesday continued to report downed substations, though progress was being made to restore power. 

Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene, who was also in Dublin reviewing the repair efforts, said Hurricane Helene did four times the damage as the last major storm to hit Georgia, Hurricane Michael in 2018. The company reported more than 8,000 power poles in need of repair or replacement, and more than 3,000 trees down on power lines. 

She hoped Dublin had power 95 percent restored today.

“Unfortunately to get to the hardest hit areas, it’s taking more time, taking more resources,” she said. “But we hope to make progress over the next couple of days. We ask everyone to continue to be patient – we are literally doing everything humanly possible to respond to this storm. We care, our employees care. Many of them in the state have left families in the dark, left damaged homes, left families behind to take care of the men and women here in Dublin.”