The following is an update of available information related to our community’s recovery from Hurricane Michael:
Safety Information
• Should you encounter barricades across streets or roadways, please do not enter. These barricades are in place due to down power lines. Do not move or drive around the barricades, as they are in place for public safety.
• Please use caution when you encounter utility vehicles, trash trucks, dump trucks and other equipment.
• Please continue to treat all non-working traffic signals as a four-way stop.
Outage Information
• At the beginning of the storm, our system reported 14,000 or 90% of our electric customers were without power. This number is now down to less than 4,400, or about 68% restored.
• Our largest outage area at this time continues to be the west side of town (Stewart Road, 84 West, GA 3, Pine Park and the Old Albany Road/Carroll Hill area). This is also one of the outages that will require a more lengthy restoration. Crews are still working this area, but the outage may last a few more days for these customers. Your patience is appreciated.
• We are now addressing smaller outage areas in our system. Please understand that at this point, we have hundreds of outages that are impacting small numbers of customers. These types of outages require a more lengthy restoration, but crews are beginning to address these areas now. Your patience is appreciated.
• To better understand the length of time that is required to restore service, we would like to share two outage locations with you. The first is the hospital area. This outage involved numerous broken poles and downed wires. This outage took 20 hours alone to bring to restoration. The second area is an ongoing outage in the Glenwood/MacInyrePark/Ridgecrest area. Crews have been working in this area continuously for four days. Unfortunately, the severity of the damage has made restoration difficult. While some customers here have been restored, others are still without power. We are continuing to address this area in today’s operations.
• If your service lines from the pole to your home are down, this is an issue you must address with an electrician before your services can be restored.
• City of Thomasville staff is unable to provide an update to customers on their individual outage or estimate a time frame for restoration. This applies to both online, telephone or in person inquiries.
• If you or someone in your home requires an uninterrupted power supply, please understand that we cannot respond to your individual outage. You will need to take the steps necessary to relocate to an area that will provide you with the power supply needed for your condition.
Solid Waste Information
• Yard debris pickup has begun and will continue throughout the weekend. Debris cannot be longer than 6 feet in length. Please do not mix construction materials, household waste, or appliances with vegetation. Do not block sewer drains or place debris into roadways if all is possible. Do not pile debris under any overhead obstruction or near property that can be damaged (wires, low hanging limbs, mailboxes, pipes, etc.).
Public Works Update
• Public Works continues to remove fallen trees and other debris to assist with restoration efforts. Please use caution when you encounter work crews and barricades that may be in place around larger fallen trees.
• The larger trees from Jackson and Glenwood near MacIntyre Park Middle School over to Bluebird have been removed. Efforts today will be near Walcott, Calhoun and other areas south of Glenwood.
• Crews are removing large trees and limbs only. Smaller debris piles will be collected by Solid Waste.
• Additional large capacity street sweepers are expected tomorrow. The additional equipment will be capable of removing larger debris and should aid in bringing streets and roadways closer to restoration.
Other Information
• GEMA will once again distribute ice and water at Thomas County Central High School beginning at 2 pm today. Volunteers are needed.
• Hands On Thomas County reports that volunteers are needed by Second Harvest Food Bank to help unload and sort supplies. Volunteers should report to 120 Roseway Drive between the hours of 8 am – 5 pm.
• The Salvation Army is supporting the American Red Cross shelter at New Covenant Church. Meals are being provided to those who are in need. If you wish to contribute monetary donations or donations of food and water to their efforts, please contact the Salvation Army.
• The Thomasville YMCA has opened their shower facilities during regular operating hours today. They will also be open 2 pm – 4 pm Sunday.
• Individuals who qualify for assistance through DFACS are eligible for SNAP Benefits to replace food items that may have been lost due to Hurricane Michael. Because of the nature of this disaster, individual verification of the outage from the City of Thomasville is not necessary, as we have already reported these outages at the state level.