As Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Florida Panhandle Thursday night, the large Category 4 storm caused widespread damage in Florida and Georgia. The path of the storm took an unexpected shift bringing the devastating winds and heavy rains to the South Carolina border. Locally we saw many trees down and damage to the power grid, which knocked out power to over 85% of residences in Colleton County. There was one report of a tree on a home and several vehicles there were crushed by falling trees. Fortunately, no injuries from the storm were reported locally. Many motor vehicle collisions occurred during the heavy rains, particularly on Interstate 95. Several tornado warnings were broadcast by the National Weather Service and one tornado was confirmed in the Town of Lodge. The path was reported to have stretched seven miles into neighboring Bamberg County. The highest recorded wind gust was 65 mph in Colleton County during the storm Thursday night. County schools, Government Offices and many businesses were closed Friday and through the weekend due to power outages. Friday, over 19,000 Colleton customers were without power and travel was difficult due to downed trees blocking many roadways. Power company crews and tree contractors worked diligently around the clock throughout the weekend to restore power. The crews did a great job and power was restored to 7,000 customers on Saturday and another 6,500 by Sunday morning. Power lines tangled in the trees hampered road clearing crews for several days. City, County and State DOT crews also worked through the weekend to reopen roadways. Many citizens used private heavy equipment to clear some roads. The Sheriff's Office, Fire-Rescue and Forestry Commission also had crews clearing the roadways. Driver's are cautioned to exercise care while driving. In many areas crews cut debris from the roadway and pushed it to the shoulder of the road to be picked up later. The power outages created many problems, as fuel and food was more difficult to find. Many filling stations had fuel in the tanks, but were unable to pump the fuel due to a lack of electricity. By Saturday afternoon, most main roads were reopened. Some oxygen dependent patients with home oxygen machines had difficulty with no power. Some sought refuge at the Hospital Emergency Department, straining resources at the ED. Fire-Rescue, Dept. of Public Health and the School District opened a special medical needs shelter at Colleton County High School, but no patients wanted to go to the shelter and no one utilized the facility, so it was closed Sunday. Animal Services had power restored to the Animal Shelter Sunday and also sent personnel to other Counties. Fire-Rescue's Emergency Management Division operated the EOC Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
While things were bad in Colleton County, it was much worse in the Upstate Region. As of Sunday, much of the Region was still without power with reports of 85% of customers still without power. Cell towers were beginning to fail due to generators running out of fuel and filling stations were not able to pump fuel to customers. Food was also a problem with stores not having power and restaurants being closed. On top of block roads, heavy rains caused flooding in many areas, which caused response problems for first responders. Two Firefighters in Saluda County were killed when a tree fell on their fire truck.
Governor McMaster has requested an expedited Major Disaster Declaration from the Federal Government. Colleton County will open a storm debris site for vegetation only at 1497 Industrial Road. It will be open each day next week from 09:00 to 16:30 and on Saturday 05-October afrom 09:00 to 12:00. Residents are responsible for bringing the vegetation debris to the site and should not take it to the landfill. They can call 843-893-2313 with questions regarding debris disposal.
