Georgia has received above-normal rainfall since June 1, according to Drought.gov and the National Weather Service.
The persistent rain, strong winds, and frequent thunderstorms have kept the Putnam County and Eatonton public works and fire departments busy responding to storm damage, particularly downed trees. Firefighters also recently responded to a home struck by lightning.
Last week, two young men from Ellabell were killed when a tree fell onto their pickup truck as they traveled on Pea Ridge Road. This week, another tree struck a moving vehicle, Putnam County Fire Chief Thomas McClain said.
"It shattered the windshield, but thankfully they were not injured," McClain said.
The incident occurred on Saturday on Lower Harmony Road, where several large trees blocked the roadway. While firefighters handle many tree removal calls, McClain said the size of one tree necessitated the county's public works department bringing in heavy equipment.
Because Putnam County spans 345 square miles and includes national forest land, two lakes, farmland, residential neighborhoods, and commercial areas, McClain said response times can vary depending on where specialized equipment is located. If public works crews must first call in off-duty employees, load equipment onto trailers, and transport it across the county, clearing a roadway can take more than an hour.
"Whereas, we have chainsaws and two people (firefighters) strategically placed throughout the county who can get right there and spend 10 to 15 minutes cutting it up and slinging it to the ditch," McClain said. "So, I think the burden on the public works department would be extreme if we didn't help them out. You'd be shocked at the amount of tree-downs we really go to."
Seven days earlier, McClain said the area around Scuffleboro and Pea Ridge roads appeared to be the hardest hit.
"There were several large trees that came down on Pea Ridge Road, some of which involved power lines and caused power outages," Putnam County Interim Manager Byron Lombard said. "That area seemed to be the only area with downed trees that I am aware of, so it must have been some small downburst."
After The Eatonton Messenger went to press last week, the National Weather Service confirmed that three tornadoes touched down on June 19 in Putnam, Jones, Baldwin, and Greene counties within a span of less than 30 minutes. Spawned by the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur, one tornado traveled about 10 miles through Jones and Baldwin counties before entering southern Putnam County near Lake Sinclair, then continued through the Twin Bridges Road, U.S. Highway 441, Flat Rock, and Pea Ridge Road areas.
A second tornado formed in northern Putnam County, crossed Lake Oconee into Greene County, and was rated EF0 with estimated peak winds of 85 mph.
Pop-up storms producing heavy rain, strong winds, and lightning have continued since then, along with additional storm damage. McClain said that between June 21 and June 29, firefighters and public works crews cleared fallen trees from the roads in Linchburg, Godfrey, Hearns, Old Phoenix, Crooked Creek, Pinkerton, Brown's Chapel, Lower Harmony, Harmony, and Pea Ridge. Several locations experienced multiple fallen trees or repeated incidents on different days.
"There shouldn't be very many trees left on Pinkerton because we've been out there so much," McClain joked.
Firefighters also responded Monday to a home in the 100 block of Garrett Drive after lightning struck it.
"There was smoke where it struck, and smoke was coming out of the outlets, but it didn't catch fire," McClain said. "We responded to quite a few fire alarms because the storm kept knocking the power off and back on, but there was nothing major."
In Eatonton, a fallen tree brought down power lines and snapped part of a utility pole on Church Street on Saturday. Residents in the area were without electricity from shortly after 4 p.m. until after 2 a.m. Sunday, while Georgia Power and city crews repaired the lines and cleared the roadway.