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Irma in DeKalb: Workers restore power and clear roads

A Dekalb man looks up to find the origin point of a branch that broke off and mangled power lines on Briarcliff Road NE on Monday, September 11, 2017. As tropical storm Irma passes through Georgia, strong winds and gusts take down trees and power lines all across metro Atlanta. (Photo by Henry Taylor/henrytaylorphoto@gmail.com)

Credit: Henry Taylor

Credit: Henry Taylor

A Dekalb man looks up to find the origin point of a branch that broke off and mangled power lines on Briarcliff Road NE on Monday, September 11, 2017. As tropical storm Irma passes through Georgia, strong winds and gusts take down trees and power lines all across metro Atlanta. (Photo by Henry Taylor/henrytaylorphoto@gmail.com)
By
Sept 12, 2017

DeKalb County is recovering from Tropical Storm Irma on Tuesday as workers try to restore power, clear blocked roads and turn off live wires draped from utility poles.

Residents in DeKalb suffered some of the most severe power outages in metro Atlanta, with 160,710 of the county's 318,000 Georgia Power customers losing electricity from the storm.

More than 80 roads were closed Tuesday morning because of downed trees and other hazards. County employees were working to clear downed trees, said DeKalb spokeswoman Quinn Hudson.

“We’re in cleanup mode now,” he said. “That’s going to be a big job. The biggest issue is getting the power back on and the trees cleared away.”

There were no reports of injuries in DeKalb from the storm, he said.

The DeKalb Emergency Management Agency urged residents not to drive so that emergency crews could restore service.

Most of the county government remained closed Tuesday, including senior centers, libraries and recreation centers. Public safety and emergency response employees are working.

Trash collection and recycling service was suspended Tuesday, with collection schedules delayed two days. Revised collection schedules are posted online at www.dekalbsanitation.com.

There were more than 1.2 million people without power Tuesday morning after Irma in Georgia.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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