Thomasville witnessed the onset of Hurricane Idalia's fury with strong winds and rain starting Tuesday evening. Mutual aid crews from Newnan, Covington, Lafayette, Marietta, and Calhoun also arrived to wait on standby and assist with possible restoration efforts.
By Wednesday morning, City of Thomasville Utilities began receiving power outage reports. Initial reports at 9 am showed 2,500 affected customers, but this escalated to 7,000 by 11:30 am. Fallen trees and damaged utility poles, particularly in the South Pinetree Boulevard, Millpond Road, and US 19 South vicinities, were the result of most reported utility issues.
Around noon Wednesday and after wind speeds dropped below 40 mph, conditions were safe for bucket trucks and utility teams to begin major power restoration work. As of 5 pm on Wednesday, efforts were in full swing with only 2,200 households and 11 damaged poles left to repair. Restoration activities were projected to extend until 9 pm and are set to restart at 6 am on Thursday.
Good news for residents: the previously announced 9 pm curfew for the Thomasville-Thomas County region on Wednesday has been rescinded.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, cleanup activities targeting debris and toppled trees are slated to span the upcoming weeks. Additional utility issues can be reported to the City of Thomasville at 229-227-7001 or after hours to 229-227-5499.