Anderson County's Tropical Storm Helene recovery efforts: Road closures, outages, debris

Hurricane Helene caused flooding, power outages, and infrastructure damage in Anderson County.

The impact of Tropical Storm Helene closed 600 county roads, caused power outages for 76% of residents, closed businesses, government offices, and schools, and resulted in five deaths in Anderson County.

As of Sunday, October 6, Shale Remien, Anderson County's Public Information Officer, was told that approximately 1% of the county was without power as of Monday afternoon. Five county roads remain closed long term.

The Anderson County emergency team, local authorities, state and federal partners (including the National Guard), Lexington and Horry County public work crews, and emergency response teams have been collaborating to clear fallen trees and downed power poles, remove debris, restore power to affected areas, and assist the injured.

The National Guard also provided essential resources, such as chainsaws for cutting through fallen trees, debris and brush crews for clearing roads, and medical personnel for caring for the injured.

"I can't say enough about the National Guard and all the help that they've given us," Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns said. "We've had a National Guard person here with us since this began around the clock."

The combined efforts of all these teams have significantly improved conditions in the affected communities.

Here is a list of County roadways that are currently closed.

• Coachman Drive
• Old Bell Road
• Hebron Church Road
• Pettigrew Road
• Gray Road
• Dorthy Trail

Power restoration in Anderson County

Duke Energy's spokesman, Ryan Mosier, reported that they anticipated the vast majority of customers in the Upstate would have power restored no later than Friday evening, October 5. However, due to the extensive damage, some customers experienced multi-day outages.

Many residents across the county were without power for seven days. This prolonged outage caused significant disruptions to daily life, including challenges in accessing essential services and keeping perishables from spoiling.

Crews from Duke Energy and Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative have been working to restore power to the Upstate area.

After conducting additional field assessments, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative confirmed that 911 power poles were broken in their service area, and 10,502 customers were without power in Anderson County. Roughly 670 have been replaced so far.

As of Sunday, October 6, Riley Morningstar, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative Communications Manager, reported that 13 customers were without power. "We are on track to restore services to over 95 percent of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative's members by Monday, October 7," Morningstar said.

After conducting additional field assessments, it was confirmed that hundreds of broken power poles existed. Morningstar stated that the ongoing discovery of damage demonstrates how crews encounter more damage as they progress, extending the restoration process.

This is the most damage they have ever recorded in their 84-year history. "Our service territory has the most rugged terrain in the state, so access to many of these poles poses a unique challenge," Morningstar said.

"It takes approximately four hours to replace a broken pole," Morningstar said. "Many being replaced now are in areas inaccessible by machinery. He stated that the poles needed to be dug and placed by hand, just like in 1940, when the cooperative was formed. Some lines have 10 broken poles."

Anderson County invests in debris cleanup

According to the Anderson County Emergency Team, a contract has been signed with SCDOT to ensure the fastest possible debris clean-up effort. Residents of Anderson City, Belton, Honea Path, Iva, Pelzer, Starr, West Pelzer, and Williamston will soon see large claw trucks removing debris from the sides of their streets.

Starting this week, more than 50 large debris claw trucks will make stops throughout the county to collect trees and branches pushed to the side of the road. Teams will divide the county into sections and make frequent pick-ups at homes.

"We haven't heard from the city of Anderson, but all of the other towns have indicated that they're going to sign the same agreement," Burns said. "We were going to negotiate a contract with Bobtail and SCDOT."

"Within this contract, 75% of it will be covered by FEMA," Burns said. "The remaining 25% will be our responsibility. However, we are optimistic and almost certain that it will be fully covered. If not, we have a backup position for another funding source."

Burns mentioned Bobtail specializes in this type of work and will come in with all the necessary equipment. "To make this process work smoothly, please push all of your debris and vegetation to the right of way, and we will pick it up," he said.

The county cannot pick up debris on private property or private roads.

If you don't know what type of road you live on? You can tell by the letter in front of the number on the upper right side of the street sign. C is for county roads, S is for state, and P is for private. Other letters such as AN, PN, PZ, WP, WM, BN, HP, ST, or IV are municipal roads.

SCDOT debris clean-up

The South Carolina Department of Transportation reported that debris crews will first focus on interstate and primary routes. As crews progress, they will turn their attention to secondary and state-maintained neighborhood roads.

In the 16 counties with the most impacts from the storm, SCDOT has hired contractors to perform this work while maintenance crews remain focused on operations and restoring roads damaged in the storm. In other impacted areas, SCDOT maintenance crews will handle debris removal, and these efforts are already underway in many of those areas.

The 16 counties with contract debris removal in place are Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Barnwell, Cherokee, Edgefield, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, Spartanburg, and Union.

Contract pickup in these 16 counties will begin the week of October 14 to allow community members recovering from the storm to clean up and pile debris from their property at the roadside. SCDOT asks that you slow down and give them room to work. Please pay attention to signs and barricades and never move or drive around them.

You can report issues on a state-maintained roadway by calling 855-467-2368.

Anderson County debris dump sites

Anderson County has two debris dump sites: Starr C&D Landfill at 390 Roy Arnold Road, Starr, and Slabtown Convenience Center at 728 Pickens Drive, Pendleton. These sites will allow people to avoid the landfill and visit sites closer to home.

Anderson County Roads and Bridges Department's new information on debris clean-up:

The county will begin collecting debris in two weeks to help elderly homeowners who may need some time and extra help bringing debris to the side of the road. Elderly residents can use the "ACSC Gov" App to request "Storm Debris Pickup."

Local authorities have asked residents to remember that teams must wait to clean debris from the street until power companies remove active power lines.

All Anderson County Convenience Centers are now open. Burns said crews will chip all of the wood up from debris removal and reuse it. This reduces the volume of waste going into the landfill and provides an eco-friendly reusable resource for the community.

Anderson County parks damage

Anderson County Parks Department Manager Matt Schell said the storm significantly impacted the local environment, requiring cleanup and repairs. The parks experienced uprooted trees, flooded playgrounds, and damaged park facilities.

The most damage occurred at Dolly Cooper Park, Green Pond Landing, Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center Disc Golf Course, and River Fork Park.

Schell stated that these areas experienced minimal structural damage, significant flooding, and fallen or damaged trees. He mentioned that Green Pond Landing had over 100 damaged and hazardous trees that needed to be addressed and also noted that Dolly Cooper Park's kayak access point was damaged.

Clean-up efforts are underway, and conditions have improved daily since the storm left the area. "We advise caution where trees are down and recommend that visitors stay out of county parks until it is deemed safe," Schell said.

He mentioned that most of the trees in Anderson County Parks are Virginia pines. Although these trees were inherited during replanting, Schell said they would not use Virginia pines. Instead, they will choose more resilient tree species to better withstand future storms and improve the overall health of the parks.

Schell said mature trees benefit the environment and are only removed if they are dead or pose a hazard to the community.

During hurricane season, Schell stated that the County Parks department regularly checks trees and contacts tree removal services when necessary. They also anchor docks and move trash cans and other loose items that could be lifted by wind or carried by water to higher ground.

Veterans Park in Pendleton is currently closed due to unsafe conditions, the county reported. Last week’s flooding caused by Hurricane Helene washed away part of the kayak launch at the Timmerman Landing in Pelzer, so the launch is closed until repairs can be made.

Anderson Regional Airport collecting donations

The Anderson Regional Airport at Heli Plane Aviation is collecting donations for North Carolina Hurricane relief supplies. Suggested items include non-perishable food, bottled water, first aid items, clothes, hygiene products, a flashlight, batteries, candles, tarps, can openers, paper products, baby supplies, diapers, wipes, formula, bottles, feminine hygiene products, solar chargers, and small emergency radios.

On Saturday, October 5, the Anderson Regional Airport reported that almost 85,000 pounds of supplies were sent by air and truck to North Carolina Hurricane victims.

United Way of Anderson County

The aftermath of Hurricane Helene has left the Anderson County community grappling with recovery challenges and immediate and long-term needs. Local community members, churches, and nonprofit organizations have joined forces to provide food, supplies, cleanup efforts, and essential services to those in need.

The United Way of Anderson County is working with these local agencies to respond to the Anderson County community's needs.

100% of donations will help those affected by the storm in Anderson County. Click here to donate https://unitedwayofanderson.org/.../contribute/transact ...

Residents can donate food and products at the United Way of Anderson offices at 604 N. Murray Ave. The non-profit organization collects shelf-stable food, hygiene products, baby items, and bottled water.

Residents can also volunteer at the upcoming food distributions (dates TBD). Volunteers are needed to help with clean-up for people in need. Call Liz at 843-910-7702 or email liz@uwandsc.org to volunteer.

The United Way of Anderson will host several food distributions across the county. Dates will be announced in the coming weeks. Please visit https://unitedwayofanderson.org/helene to make a donation or get more information.

Residents can also call the 2-1-1 Helpline at 211 (866-892-9211) or visit www.sc211.org to connect to local resources and agencies that can help with their specific needs.

FEMA assistance in Anderson County

Starting on Tuesday, October 7, a Disaster Survivor Assistance Team will be set up at Anderson Library to help homeowners follow the necessary steps after the storm. The team will include an application process with FEMA, applying for assistance, and providing additional community resources.

The team will walk the public through how to start an application process with FEMA and answer any remaining questions homeowners may have.

According to the Anderson County Emergency Team, this paperwork is necessary before a Disaster Recovery Center is opened within the county. The Disaster Survivor Assistance Team will work Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Travis Rose covers Anderson County for the Independent Mail. Reach him via email at trose@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Anderson Independent Mail: Anderson County's Tropical Storm Helene recovery efforts: Road closures, outages, debris