Gov. Kemp: Hurricane Helene blamed for 11 deaths in Georgia, including a first responder who died trying to save others

ATLANTA – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday morning said at least 11 people died, including a first responder, as Hurricane Helene hit the state late Thursday night.

Kemp did not give details about the deaths but said they were all along the path of the powerful hurricane and many happened because of trees that fell.

The Pierce County Fire Department confirmed that a firefighter was killed in Blackshear when a tree fell on their vehicle. Kemp said the firefighter died trying to save others.

Pierce County Fire Department’s chief told News4JAX that Leon Davis was killed while responding to a power line down. Davis had the area blocked off and was killed when a tree broke off and hit his vehicle.

Kemp said there was also significant devastation in the agricultural community including flattened poultry houses and row crop damage.

Valdosta and Augusta saw significant damage from high winds and flooding.

Kemp said 115 structures were heavily damaged and people were trapped inside in Valdosta. Kemp said authorities were “having a hard time getting to places” so teams with chainsaws were “working to free up roads.”

The Georgia Department of Transportation said 152 roads and two interstates were closed across the state Friday.

1 million customers in the state were left without power including the South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta, which lost its emergency generator.

Kemp issued an executive order Friday morning authorizing an additional 1,000 Georgia Guard troops to assist in recovery efforts in addition to the 250 troops that were already deployed. According to Kemp, response teams are helping with widespread power outages, property damage and flooding.

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Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said firefighters rescued about 20 people overnight from cars or apartments imperiled by swiftly rising floodwaters.

Kim Greene, the CEO of Georgia Power Co. told reporters Friday she feared outages would continue to rise for the 2.6 million customers of Georgia’s only private electrical utility.

“All of that rain is leading to very saturated ground, and trees, unfortunately, will continue to fall,” Greene told reporters during a news conference in Atlanta. “So we do expect the number of outages to continue to rise. I assure you that we want to get your power back on just as safely and as quickly as possible.”

Click here to view the outage map.

In Northeast Georgia, a water release from Lake Rayburn is planned due to flooding, and residents downstream are being evacuated to avoid being cut off.

Across the state, 17 shelters are open housing 1,100 people and Kemp said resources are being deployed to assist a shelter in Coffee County that lost its roof.