Continued heavy rain falling on already saturated ground is causing trees to fall all over Habersham.
“We’re having trees down just everywhere,” says Habersham County Road Superintendent John Stamey.
Double Bridge Road was blocked much of the day Tuesday due to a downed tree on power lines. The road was shut down between Historic US 441 and Refuge Baptist. It was reopened to thru traffic around 6 p.m.
Upper end of county hardest hit
Stamey says the central and northern parts of the county are hardest hit. Specific trouble spots include Double Bridge Road in Clarkesville, roads near Piedmont College in Demorest, and Shirley Grove Road in the Turnerville area. “Since this rain started I guess you’d say maybe the upper end from Cornelia up was worse than the lower side down toward Gainesville and Hall County,” Stamey says.
Patricia Garrett lives on the ‘upper end’. A tree fell on top of a trampoline in the family’s backyard in Hollywood on Monday. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
While some homeowners are clearing debris from their yards, road crews are working overtime to keep local roads clear.
Twenty crew members are now working ten hour days. They’re using chainsaws and a chipper to chop up trees and move them out of the roadways. “We chipped a little today down on Double Bridge Road (and) we’ll be chipping in there tomorrow,” Stamey says.
Dangerous
Drivers don’t normally worry about being hit by falling trees, but recent events highlight the hazard.
In Polk County, North Carolina on Monday a two-man news crew died when a tree fell on top of their vehicle. Officials say the tree’s root system loosened and gave way in the rain-soaked ground.
A similar tragedy happened in Habersham last October when a postal worker was killed while delivering mail on her rural route near Hollywood. 36-year-old Zekeiah (Nikki) Cole Hunt of Mt. Airy died when a tree fell on top of her vehicle and caused the roof to collapse. She died instantly.
Freak accidents like that are prone to happen in extreme wet weather like this. Stamey urges drivers to be cautious.
“In this rain it’s dangerous. Just drive careful and if you see signs where we’re working just slow down ’til we get through there,” he says.
(featured photo by Robin Smith)
