Jefferson County residents bracing themselves for Hurricane Helene

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) – Jefferson County is one of the areas in the CSRA that is expected to see some of the worst of the storm overnight.

Residents in Louisville are just waiting and bracing themselves for the storm. They say they are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

“The biggest concern is always the safety of our citizens,” says Mayor Jenny Smith.

Roads in Louisville have been washed out, and authorities are advising the public to stay indoors.

Sheriff Gary Hutches has imposed a curfew from 9PM Thursday until Noon Friday.

“Our street crew and utility crews we sent them home to get some rest because they very could be up all night,” says Louisville City Administrator Ricky Sapp.

“Particularly is people move around tomorrow morning until we know that we really want people to stay home until we that those streets are safe for people,” says Mayor Jenny Smith.

Since the harshest effects of the hurricane will be happening at night, city leaders want people to be aware of their surroundings.

Officials say residents need to be on the lookout for flooding and downed tree limbs that may make the roads dangerous.

“Particularly when its dark you can run up on a very dangerous situation very quickly and also the other thing, I would say do not drive around an orange barrel. If the orange cones are up, they’re there for a reason,” says Sapp.

Jefferson County schools let out at 1 P.M. on Thursday and will be closed Friday.

Some residents say they made last-minute grocery runs to make sure they have supplies incase their power goes out.

“Just trying to get prepared for it. Have some stuff to snack on incase the power goes out. I’m ready for it just to be over, yeah,” says Rodney Robinson, who is a resident in Jefferson County.

Count on NewsChannel 6 to bring you the latest updates.

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