57 rescued as Fannin County crews battle floods and fires

Listening to the McKaysville police chief just filling us in on what, you know, rescue operations have been like there. One thing that stood out to me that he said, it sounds like everyone doing OK, even those folks that had to be rescued. He mentioned, you know, hypothermia shock. Being some of the things that they are dealing with. But all in all, a lot of teamwork going into pulling off several rescues there in the area. So, I mean, this is what we're talking about. Those dangerous, dangerous flooding that's happened since overnight there in North Georgia. So, Fannin County in particular, we mentioned dozens of people had to be rescued. This washed out roads we saw. Our crew had a tough time even getting to the scene due to the roads being washed out. Bridges have been washed out. It's making it harder for crews just to get around and do the important work that they need to be able to do. So we're joined now by Robert Poole. He is the public information officer for the Fannin County Emergency Management. Robert, good morning to you. Thank you so much for, in the middle of all this, finding time to check in with us. We appreciate it. So, Robert, do you have me? Yeah, good morning. Thanks for having me. All right, there we go. So we're going to be hearing Robert's voice just kind of walking us through the scene here. So let's start, Robert, with what's happening right now. Where are you focusing most of the response that's going down? And what do people in the area need to know right now? I mean, if you can avoid McKaysville and the surrounding area, obviously, that's a good idea. There's still a lot going on down there. The water is starting to recede, but not exactly at a rapid rate. We're moving in the right direction, but we've still got a ways to go. Right now, we're actually dealing with, we had a car fire. I think actually it was a propane tank that caught a car on fire that had a structure in danger. So they've been dealing with that down there right now. And they had some, I believe the water system was an issue. So they've got a pump. They're actually pumping water. And I think they're bringing some tankers in right now just to make sure we have adequate water supply in case we have any more fires. Yeah, I got to tell you, I mean, that on top of everything that crews are having to deal with right now, it really couldn't be, it couldn't be worse timing to have to try to put some fires out, no doubt. Let's talk about the people, Robert, who are still trapped. Do we know if there are still people who are needing to be rescued? And what are we looking at as far as folks who've had to rely on someone to come and get them out? At this time, I don't know of any confirmed people in Fannin County that still need to be rescued. They are talking about probably utilizing some helicopters and drones to do an aerial survey just to make sure we don't spot anybody that needs to be evacuated that we don't know about. Mm-hmm. And we had a total of, I was told, 57 last night that were rescued by a total of 13 swift water rescue teams with nine boats. Okay. So we're talking about a pretty big number here, folks that have relied on some help to try to get to safety. Let's talk about the roads and the bridges. We've been saying that so many of the roads are washed out. We've got bridges that are not passable right now. That's what folks are looking at on their screens as we speak, Robert. So no doubt this is impacting crews trying to get to people. So what are they experiencing on the ground? Yeah, definitely. That was a big issue we had last night was it was very challenging for us to reach a lot of these people. With the roads washed out and the high water and, you know, the water gets high, it picks up things, propane tanks and parts of docks and cars and everything else. So all those objects floating down the river. Posed a threat to our crews as well. So it was challenging to get to these people for sure. Yeah. Now you mentioned the water starting to recede. So that's certainly some good news, some much needed news for a lot of folks around there. But let's just say there is someone who, you know, finds themselves surrounded by water, not safely able to get out. What would your advice to them be right now? Well, hopefully they've got a cell phone and they get service and definitely, you know, 911 and let us try to come get them. Thank They definitely want to stay out of the water if they can. If they're out of the water, just hold on to something that's a better spot so we can come and get them and remove them safely rather than them trying to get in the water with all the debris that's still going down the rivers and the creeks. you. And speaking of the river, let's talk about the Toccoa River and just kind of what you guys are watching for over the next few hours. So just watching the levels, hopefully, you know, they continue to recede. And as it drops, obviously, that's going to make our jobs easier and make areas more accessible. Yeah, certainly. So that part of this is good that we're starting to see the water go down. Do you have any resources for us when it comes to folks wanting to, you know, make their way around if they can? Latest road closures, maybe shelter information, county alerts. Is there a place that folks can go to find this information, Robert? We've been trying to put updates on our social media page. It's Fannin County Emergency Management Agency on Facebook. We should have an update sometime in the very near future to provide some of that information. Up until this point, we've just been trying to get people just to stay put, period, and not even attempt to travel. You know, as you were speaking, we're watching some some video of some of those rescues that happened. And you can see a woman who had just been rescued giving a hug to one of the responders that helped to get her to safety. So, Robert, what's what would you like to say for for the team that's been out working so hard just to try to make sure that that folks there in Fannin County are safe? We were very fortunate. We had an amazing response from our mutual aid partners and the surrounding states and surrounding counties. Just an overwhelming response. So we're grateful that we had those resources. We were already stretched pretty thin. This actually started off for us with lightning strikes and structure fires. We had three structure fires within 10 minutes of each other. So just those three structure fires really had us spread thin. And we ended up with a total of six structure fires. But among all that is when the water started to rise and all the other swift water rescue calls started coming in. We're just very fortunate, and we owe them a- A great deal for coming and helping us out. Yeah, well, we're certainly thinking about all the folks in Fannin and Gilmer counties right now, finding themselves in the middle of all this. A big thanks to the crews working so hard just to keep folks safe up there. So, Robert, thank you so much for checking in with us again with the Fannin County Emergency Management. Robert Poole joining us, and we're thinking about all of you, Robert. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Of course. Thank you so much for joining us. We have also heard from Governor Brian Kemp. Let's take a look at what the governor has said about the situation. He says the state is actively responding to flooding in northwest Georgia. This was part of a Facebook post from him this morning. He said Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency leading a multi-agency response, including Georgia Department of Public Safety and Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia DNR using both aviation and boat assets, as well as local counties and Tennessee first responders So this is an ongoing flash flood emergency. The statement goes on to say, it says, if you are in the impacted area, seek higher ground and listen to your emergency officials. So that is the official statement there from Governor Brian Kemp.