Crews are working fervently to restore power and clear county roads, but there is so much storm damage from Hurricane Matthew, "it's going to take some time," said Bulloch County Public Safety Director Ted Wynn.

Georgia Power Company, which called in crews from several other states to assist with storm response in the area, is "about 90 percent completed, and the other 10 percent (of customers) should be restored by (Monday night)," he said.

Approximately 600 Georgia Power customers in Bulloch were still without power as of 5 p.m. Monday, according to the company's website.

Greg Brooks, spokesman for Excelsior Electric Membership Corporation, or EMC, said the damage was extreme in the service area, and crews are working steadily to restore power as soon as possible. Most of Excelsior EMC's 22,303 customers were affected by outages, he said.

"At the height of the storm, 21,000 service accounts were down," he said, adding that extensive damage to trees and power poles is hampering the restoration process, and crews are working through unusually wet conditions.

"We're making steady progress, but we also continue to find broken pole after broken pole everywhere we go," said Excelsior EMC CEO Greg Proctor. "This type of repair takes a minimum of four hours, even longer if it's complicated by other factors."

Proctor asks that customers be patient throughout the time-consuming process.

"Not only are we making repairs to our electrical system, we're also doing a tremendous amount of tree work. The tree work often begins before we even get to the repair site, because crews have to cut their way in."

Electric company workers have come from all over to respond to the storm-savaged coastal Georgia and South Carolina areas, he said, and more are on their way.

"Our normal workforce is tripled right now, with more crews arriving," Proctor said. "In addition, every employee at Excelsior EMC is on duty performing some function. This is the largest outage in our co-op's history."

Although some county residents have been without power since Friday night, all efforts are being made to restore electricity as quickly as possible, he said, adding that some residents should be prepared to be without power for the next few days.

As of Monday afternoon, there were still more than 7,100 customers without power, with 81 percent of them in Bulloch County, Brooks said. Excelsior EMC handles 3,271 miles of line in Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Emanuel, Jenkins and Tattnall counties.

Cleanup

The area around Statesboro and around Stilson and Mud Road and Arcola in Brooklet seem to be the hardest hit, Wynn said, but he warned residents to be wary of people who are soliciting repair or cleanup work. Make sure you know the people, and do not offer any payment before the work is completed, as some may take advantage of residents, especially the elderly or disabled, and price-gouging could occur.

"If you have any questions or suspicions, call the sheriff's department," he said.

Efforts are being made to inspect homes and report damage to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, he said, adding that federal assistance may be available.

Residents can access the Georgia Housing Search website at www.georgiahousingsearch.org if they need a place to stay until they can rebuild or relocate, he said.

Hurricane Matthew "will not make the loop that was projected last week and come back, so we can start to put this ... behind us," Wynn said. "The other one that was out there (Hurricane Nicole) should not be a factor, either, so recovery can continue. Power companies are doing their best to get power restored, and hopefully, with good weather forecasted, they can make some real progress. "

Numbers to call

Brooks said calling to report outages is helpful.

"Please report your outage via our automated system at (912) 685-2115 or (912) 764-2123. This is the quickest and most efficient way for us to handle your request," he said. "Once you report, it is not necessary to leave a message unless there are extenuating circumstances. Rest assured, your outage report has been received if you complete the reporting process to the end."

Wynn said to call (800) 451-1954 if you need help with cleanup.

"This is the Crisis Cleanup number for assistance in cleaning up your property," he said. "Your information will populate a map, which will guide volunteer organizations to your assistance."

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.

Solid waste centers establish temporary rules

Effective at the opening of usual business hours on Wednesday, all Bulloch County Solid Waste Convenience Centers will accept household garbage, refuse and yard waste from storm debris only, said Bulloch County Manager Tom Couch. No tires, bulk waste, metal or recyclables will be accepted until further notice.   

Rules regarding storm debris are as follows:

Yard waste will only be accepted on bumper-pulled trailers no longer than 16 feet.

All yard waste delivered in larger capacities will be directed to the Lakeview Road transfer station, where a fee of $19.75 per ton will be assessed.

All yard waste must be fully loaded into designated roll-off containers. No loads may be dumped on the ground.

If a convenience center is filled to capacity, customers may be re-directed to another center.

To ease the transfer and capture of loads, it is recommended that logs and tree stumps be pre-cut to lengths no greater than 6 feet and widths no greater than 10 inches in diameter.

Schools reopening

All Bulloch County Schools campuses and offices will open and resume a normal schedule on Wednesday, Oct. 12. Students will not be required to make up the missed days, said BOE spokesperson Hayley Greene.

Georgia Southern University's campus will open and classes will resume Tuesday, Oct. 11, according to GSU spokesperson Jennifer Wise. 

Ogeechee Technical College classes will resume Tuesday, Oct. 11, according to the college's website.