Helene Aftermath in Martinez | Three trees down on family’s home

MARTINEZ, Ga (WJBF)- Friday, President Biden approved an emergency disaster declaration for Georgia and we are seeing that damage first hand.

There were nearly a dozen trees in the road through Wheeler Road in Martinez, and downed power lines. A nearby trailer park has trees through mobile homes and a gas leak.

And a family living in a neighborhood had trees falling all over their property, including through their roof.

“It got bad about 2:30 here. My daughter and my granddaughter got to their room at about 4:00 this morning– trees started falling,” said George Edenfield.

Edenfield and his family live off of Wheeler Road in Martinez. He told NewsChannel 6 that Helene did a lot of damage to their property.

“We had three that come through the roof. I got my work truck and my trailer. Both have trees on them. They’re crushed. My personal truck is crushed by a tree that’s gone through the house. But we’re all safe. So that’s all that matters.”

Edenfield said that the storm was much stronger than he expected.

“I tried to stay as calm as I could because of my daughter and my granddaughter. I mean, they were pretty frightened. It was wild, especially with all the lights off, no power and you couldn’t see. We had flashlights, but things crashing around you. You don’t know what’s coming and what’s not.”

Now Edenfield is trying to find other accommodations while he picks up the pieces of his home.

“I got to get in touch with all my insurance companies and get all that handled and make our next step from there.”

First responders are overwhelmed with calls and are asking people to stay off the roads. They say drivers are in the way and hindering them getting to emergencies.

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