After Helene in Martinez | 3 trees fell on the family’s house

MARTINEZ, Ga. (WJBF)- On Friday, President Biden signed an emergency disaster declaration for Georgia, and we’re seeing the damage firsthand.

There were nearly a dozen trees and downed power lines along Wheeler Road in Martinez. At a nearby trailer park, mobile homes are lined with trees and leaking gas.

A family living in one neighborhood had trees fall all over their property, including their roof.

“The weather here got worse around 2:30. My daughter and grandson came to their room around 4:00 this morning; the trees started falling,” said George Edenfield.

Edenfield and his family live on Wheeler Road in Martinez. He told NewsChannel 6 that Helene caused a lot of damage to their property.

“We had three people go through the roof. I bought my work truck and trailer. Both have trees on them. They were crushed. My personal truck was crushed by a tree passing through the house. But we are all safe. So that’s all that matters.”

Edenfield said the storm was much stronger than he expected.

“I tried to stay as calm as I could because of my daughter and grandchild. So they were quite scared. It was a crazy environment, especially when all the lights were off, there was no electricity and you couldn’t see. We had flashlights, but things were crashing around you. “You never know what will come and what won’t.”

Now she’s trying to find other accommodation while picking up the pieces of her Edenfield home.

“I need to contact all my insurance companies, get this all sorted out, and take our next step from there.”

First responders are overwhelmed with calls and are asking people to stay off the roads. They say it gets in the way of drivers and prevents them from reaching emergencies.

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