Cleanup continues after winter blast of ice batters trees, coats roadways, knocks out power, cancels school classes
Photo courtesy of Mark Holloway. Linemen worked around the clock during Winter Storm Fern to restore power to residents in surrounding areas and Rabun County. These lineman were seen working on Rickman Airfield Road. EMA Director Brian Panell said that at the peak of the storm, nearly 72 percent of the county was without power.
Winter Storm Fern brought freezing rain, ice and high winds to Rabun County and surrounding areas last weekend. The weather event began the evening of Saturday, Jan. 24, and continued through Sunday. The significant rainfall led to re-freezing Sunday and Monday evenings.
Water, extended power outages and damage throughout the county resulted from the storm and cleanup continues this week as another winter storm potentially could coat the county with up to 3 inches of snow this weekend.
The storm aftermath left downed trees on power lines and in roadways as well as sheets of ice on streets. The weight of the ice resulted in many of the downed trees.
Rabun County Fire Services responded to 17 calls for trees on power lines on Jan. 25, according to the weekly call report.
“The biggest problem we are dealing with is the number of trees that came down from the ice,” Scott Provance, Rabun County Road Department director, told The Clayton Tribune. “We pretreated all of our roads prior to the ice which made a huge difference in clearing them. We will continue to clear the tree debris as fast as we can to make all our roads passable.”
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Georgia Power, Habersham EMC, road crews, utility vehicles and linemen actively brined and pre-treated roads and worked during the storm to restore power and clear roadways.
As of press time Wednesday, there were still many Rabun County residents experiencing power and water outages.
As of Monday morning, 9,421 out of 16,236, or 58.03 percent, tracked meters were without power in the county, according to FindEnergy.com which compiles outage data for areas, including Rabun County. Officials said the local outage percentage hit 72 percent at its highest point.
As of Wednesday morning, the total – thanks to round-the-clock work by local and assisting power crews – had been reduced to less than 20 percent.
Many government offices and local businesses were closed Monday and had delayed openings on Tuesday.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a State of Emergency statewide and the Mountain Judicial Circuit made a Declaration of Judicial Emergency to close the courts Monday and Tuesday.
The Germany Valley National Weather Service Cooperative Observation Station in Rabun County recorded 1.41 inches of rainfall between Jan. 24 and Jan. 26, Station Manager Anthony Lampros told The Clayton Tribune.
The Germany Valley observation station is affiliated with and supervised by the weather service office located at the Greenville/Spartanburg airport. Reporting times are 24 hours from 7 a.m. to 7 a.m. every day, all year. Lampros said this is because the station is a human-based system where a person must manually document the totals daily.
“A significant amount was freezing rain,” Lampros said.
Lampros said portions of Rabun County, as well as White County and northern Habersham County, had reported one-half to three-fourths inches of ice accumulation, but the amount depended on the location and elevation.
“Rabun County recently experienced a significant ice storm that created hazardous travel conditions, with multiple roadways becoming impassable due to ice accumulation, downed trees, and power lines,” Rabun County Emergency Management (EMA) Director Brian Panell told The Clayton Tribune Tuesday. “At the peak of the storm, nearly 72 percent of the county was without power, leaving many residents without heat during freezing temperatures. In response, a warming shelter was opened and operated by the American Red Cross at the Rabun County Recreation Department Gym #3 to provide citizens with a safe place to take refuge from the cold.”
Agencies work together during Winter Storm Fern
“Rabun County Public Safety agencies worked around the clock to respond to emergencies, conduct welfare checks, and clear roadways in order to protect life and property,” Panell said.
Rabun County officials discussed the collaboration between agencies during Winter Storm Fern at Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting.
“We all had a collaborative effort,” County Administrator Darrin Giles said to meeting attendees.
Giles thanked the Rabun County Road Department crews as well as EMA, Rabun County Fire Services and the Rabun County Sheriff’s Office for their hard work in keeping everyone safe during the storm and for the cleanup effort.
Commissioner Scott Crane, along with other commissioners, thanked Wanda Henry, Rabun County Senior Center and Transit director, for cooking meals for first responders and everything she did to help during Winter Storm Fern.
“We’re very fortunate,” Commissioner Chairman Greg James said about the agencies collaborating.
James commended the volunteers who took time away from their families to work during the storm. He also thanked local elected state representatives and U.S. Representative for Georgia’s Ninth District Andrew Clyde for the collaboration.
“I want to say ‘thank you’ to them. The volunteers were a huge part in this effort,” said James, who also commended Panell and the Rabun County Office of Emergency Management/Search and Rescue for the “well-planned and orchestrated” operations during the storm.
“It’s a team effort,” Panell said, noting he could not do his job without his great team of volunteers.
“I would like to thank all cooperating partners within Rabun County Public Safety for their coordination and teamwork during this event. I also appreciate the support of GEMA Area Field Representative Jonathan Jones for his assistance in facilitating resource requests that helped support Rabun County’s response,” Panell said to The Clayton Tribune Tuesday. “Special recognition goes to our volunteer fire departments and volunteer search and rescue members who assisted with emergency responses, tree removal, and spreading salt and chat (fine gravel) on roadways. I also want to thank the Rabun County Road Department for their tireless work salting, scraping, and removing debris to restore access across the county.”
Panell also thanked everyone who attended the cooperative coordination meeting held prior to the arrival of Winter Storm Fern. This included representatives from all Rabun County municipalities, Rabun County Public Safety Agencies, local power companies, Rabun County Schools, Tallulah Falls School, Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, and the Rabun County Board of Commissioners.
“That advance coordination played an important role in preparedness, communication, and response throughout the event,” Panell said.
Rabun County Sheriff Mark Gerrells thanked all of his deputies for their dedication during Winter Storm Fern. Gerrells said it was “all hands on deck” over the weekend and through the first part of the week for public safety and first responders.
“Rabun County is unique. I’ve never seen people pull together like they do in this county,” Gerrells told The Clayton Tribune. “My hat’s off to everyone.”
“I ask for the public to be patient,” Gerrells said about the cleanup efforts, noting it’s important to take precautions.
Gerrells as well as City of Sky Valley Mayor Benita Cotton-Orr thanked all of the responders who left their homes and families to help the community.
“The public works crew and our police department did a fantastic job keeping the town safe,” said Cotton-Orr, who is in her first month as the city’s new mayor.
Cotton-Orr said Sky Valley Police Department Chief Ron Baumes took note of residents who stayed in Sky Valley and those who left to help “prioritize response time” and help those in need.
Cotton-Orr said Sky Valley was very prepared when it came to preparation for snow and ice. The city sent out many notices about storm preparation and updates throughout the weekend.
“We’re in storm prep mode again this weekend,” Cotton-Orr said, noting snow might be in the forecast for this weekend.
According to the Weather Channel as of press time, up to 3 inches of snow are forecasted for Sky Valley and the county Saturday.
“While road conditions are improving, we continue to ask that travel be limited to essential trips only and done with extreme caution, as hard freezes are expected over the next several days,” an email message from the City of Sky Valley read. The message also said trash and recycling would be picked up Wednesday, Jan. 28.
“Rabun County is fortunate to have a dedicated network of volunteers and public servants who step forward during disasters to serve and protect our citizens and visitors,” Panell said.
Giles said that cleanup efforts are ongoing and urged Rabun County residents to be patient as crews continue to work cleaning up throughout the week.
The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia opened its doors to linemen and Georgia Power crews working during the winter storm. Epting Catering was on site providing food to linemen, said James Brim, director of the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia Mountain Branch.
“The Food Bank is always open to helping people,” Brim said about helping those in need get food.
The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia is located at 46 Plaza Way, Clayton. Contact 706-782-0780 or visit https://foodbanknega.org/ for more information.
Closures announced, reports of power and water outages
Many government businesses reported closures due to winter weather on Monday, with Rabun County government offices reopening around 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Rabun County Schools announced it would hold an At-Home Learning Day for students on Wednesday, Jan. 28, due to the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern. Staff were told to report at 10 a.m. or when it was safe to do so.
The school system was closed Monday and Tuesday due to weather conditions throughout the county. The Board of Education (BOE) meeting originally scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26, was rescheduled to Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 3 p.m.
“Students should follow the instructions provided by their teachers regarding the assignments and learning activities that were provided on Friday,” according to a message from Rabun County Schools. “Due to the conditions throughout the county, assignments will be handled with flexibility and understanding, as winter weather may cause disruptions for some families. Teachers may be contacted through email and ParentSquare.”
According to the message, school officials “will continue to assess conditions throughout the day” and make a determination regarding classes for Thursday, Jan. 29, “as soon as possible.”
Tallulah Falls School also announced closures Monday through Wednesday.
The Rabun County Water and Sewer Authority (RCWSA) issued a notice about several customer outages throughout the county.
“We are working as fast as possible to resolve these issues. You may be experiencing frozen service lines as well due to the low temperatures. Thank you for your patience in this matter as we continue to work through them,” according to the notice.
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School closed school on Monday and Tuesday and returned to normal operations on Wednesday, Jan. 28. School officials noted on its Facebook page the school maintained power during the storm and had minimal damage. However, families and employees of the school were without power and dealt with road condition challenges.
States of Emergency issued for region
The Mountain Judicial Circuit made a Declaration of Judicial Emergency to close the courts in Rabun, Habersham, Stephens and Banks counties from Monday, Jan. 26, at 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27. Court deadlines were extended until Wednesday, Jan. 28.
“Whereas, the emergency substantially endangers or infringes upon the normal functioning of the judicial system, the ability of persons to avail themselves of the judicial system, or the ability of litigants or others to have access to the courts or meet scheduled or time deadlines imposed by the court order or rule, statute of administrative rule or regulation…” the Standing Order of the Court, signed by Chief Judge William R. Oliver, reads.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a statewide State of Emergency ahead of Winter Storm Fern beginning Thursday, Jan. 22, and expiring on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 11:59 p.m.