Georgia's White County working to recover after ice storm leaves third of residents without power
More than 11,000 people remain without power in Georgia's White County after the weekend's ice storm toppled trees and felled power lines.
That's roughly a third of the county, according to U.S. Census data. Officials tell CBS News Atlanta the recovery is going to be long and far from easy.
"So, it has been compared to a Category 2 hurricane," said White County Public Information Officer Bryce Barrett. "We've got 10, 15, 35-year veterans that said that they've never seen anything like this before."
Barrett says the county is dealing with massive blackouts, fallen trees, frozen roads, and more.
"We've seen people that have started to run out of supplies that they had prepared with, or their generators fail, or out of fuel for the generator," he said.
Officials want people to stay warm at county-run shelters, if they can get there safely.
"We have a special needs shelter. And that is for those that may be on, like, home oxygen or oxygen concentrators, any medical equipment that requires power," Barrett said. "And then we have a congregate shelter warming center that's available as well."
When it comes to reporting problems, calling 911 should only be for emergencies.
"We only have so many 911 lines. Every jurisdiction only has so many, so we cannot tie up those lines for people calling to report power outages," he said. "That's actually something that we can't do anything about anyways. You have to contact your utility company."
The non-emergency number for White County is 706-865-0911. You can call it to report storm-related issues that don't require police, fire, or medics.
As the county moves into recovery mode, it's asking the community for patience.
"Just pray for our guys. Pray for our first responders, those in the engine and those that are here in the EOC having to make decisions," Barrett said.
The county is offering shelters at Helen City Hall and White County Parks and Recreation on Asbestos Road. You can find more information and learn how to submit a request for sheltering here.
