BRUNSWICK -- Be patient, they said.
Glynn County officials on Tuesday afternoon said they were trying as fast as possible to let residents come back, but they declined to estimate when the battered county would open for those who fled Irma.
"This has been a roller coaster of epic proportions," county chairman Bill Brunson said during a news conference with our officials. "We know you're anxious, but we've got to get you back safely. ... Right now we feel like our community is not safe."
He described the widespread flooding across Glynn as “historic” and something he’s never seen in his decades here.
U.S. Congressman Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, who represents Georgia's coast, reminded that FEMA will be helping the area.
"We learned a lot of important lessons from Matthew," he said of last year's hurricane that also hit here. "That's helped this time."
Like the other officials, Carter said he knew Glynn residents want to come home.
"I know it's a disruption,” he said. “I know it's a pain."
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Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said Jekyll and St. Simons islands are remaining closed because the bridges to them need to be inspected to ensure they're safe after waters rose during the storm.
Paulo Albuquerque of Georgia Power said he expected it will take longer for power to be restored around the coast than it took after Hurricane Matthew. The reason is that workers are stretched so thin with mass outages around the state and are also helping in Florida.
"We're not the only show in town," he said.
As for St. Simons Island, anyone trying to come or go was stopped by police or military at checkpoints on the road from the mainland.
But the clean up was underway. Crews were clearing trees on roads, bagging debris dropped by Irma all along the coast and using a backhoe to shove back massive rocks thrown on the ground from the beach by the storm surge.
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Mike Grace, who's lived in Glynn County since 1992, said he was impressed with how the clean up appeared to be going.
He hoped it won't take as long as with Hurricane Matthew, which had residents kept off the island for days, including Grace.
"I learned my lesson last time simply because the renter process was hard," he said.
Henry North III, a long haired 52-year-old having a cigarette on the shore, said he's hopeful that the roads in and out will open sooner this time.
"Everybody will be upset because they left and want to come back and see the damage," he said.
But he's impressed with how quickly the clean up is going. It's smoother so far than Matthew.
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