Over 32K without power in Beaufort Co. Officials urge patience while awaiting restoration
By Sarah Haselhorst ,
Chloe Appleby and
Karl Puckett
Daufuskie Island firefighters reported several fallen trees and minor roof damage in the Melrose area after a “possible tornado touchdown” stemming from Hurricane Helene.
Daufuskie Island Fire District
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Hurricane Helene
Expected to reach Florida’s Big Bend region late Thursday, the predicted incoming impacts for Hurricane Helene triggered a tropical storm watch for the Lowcountry.
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2:55 p.m: Governor update
During a statewide Helene update at 2 p.m. Friday, Gov. Henry McMaster said there were possibly more power outages from Helene than any other storm in recent history. He urged residents to exercise patience with getting power restored.
1:35 p.m: Half of Dominion customers without power
From the early morning, when about 1.3 million electric customers in South Carolina were without power over 50,000 lacked electricity in Beaufort County, nearly 38,000 Dominion Energy and Palmetto Electric customers were without power.
More than 10,000 Palmetto Electric customers were still without power, according to Hunter. The majority of powerless customers, around 6,300, live in Jasper County.
About 1,600 of their Beaufort County customers are dealing with outages. Additional crews from Alabama are coming to assist the energy cooperative to restore power, Hunter said.
Noon: County power updates
About 30,000 Dominion Energy customers in Beaufort County and 5,000 customers in Jasper County were still without power, according to Fischer.
Crews are continuing to make good process restoring power as the day goes on, Fischer said.
11 a.m: Power outages decrease by over 10%
A surge of customers had restored power, dropping the percentage without from 47% to 36%. About 38,200 Beaufort County Dominion Energy customers didn’t have electricity at 11 a.m., and over 3,450 Palmetto Electric customers hadn’t had power restored.
8:45 a.m: Gas station rush
Cars were seen lining up for gas around at the Parker’s convenience store on S.C 170 near Callawassie Drive, which was open for business while widespread power outages shut down most gas stations north of the Broad River.
The line inside stretched to the back of the building. Many patrons were emergency service workers who had come for their fix of morning coffee.
Cars are seen lining up for gas around 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Parker’s convenience store on S.C 170 near Callawassie Drive, in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Evan McKenna
7:30 a.m: Dominion Energy power update
About 43,000 Dominion Energy customers in Beaufort County and 7,000 in Jasper County were without power according to Paul Fischer, the energy company’s spokesperson.
Fischer said the outages were a result of widespread damage from downed trees and severe winds overnight. The energy company worked throughout the night to restore power in areas where crews could work safely, and they will continue to work around the clock to get power restored, he said.
There was not a precise timeline for when power would be restored for customers, Fischer said, but that with declining wind speeds and the benefit of daylight Friday morning, crews would be able to work more safely to address outages.
7:23 a.m: Palmetto Electric update on storm response & recovery
Tray Hunter, Palmetto Electric’s vice president of marketing and public relations, said at 7 a.m. Friday that the vast majority of outages were tied to fallen trees on transmission lines.
Once transmission is back up, Hunter said the 21,000 outages would drop down to 5,000 or 6,000 customers without power. Those remaining customers are located in rural areas.
Widespread outages began at about 1 a.m. Friday and escalated up until 5 a.m. due to high winds.
While crews were out, Hunter said they were cutting down trees in roads just to get through to affected areas. Between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., crews from Palmetto Electric and other electric teams had to stop responding to outages because of dangerous high winds.
At about 7:10 a.m., Hunter said crews were packing up to go out again.
“Once it’s light, we can see what we’re actually dealing with,” Hunter said.
He was hesitant to say when power would be restored, because once transmission comes back up, there can still be trees on lines that feed between homes and substations. It could be 30 minutes, once the crews get out. In some areas it could be the afternoon.
Hunter said he is hopeful everyone’s electricity is back on Friday. However, power restoration could come late Friday or Saturday.
Hilton Head Island fared well, with only three customer outages as of 7:15 a.m., Hunter said, adding that it’s due to the island’s underground power lines.
5:50 a.m: Sheriff’s Office receiving multiple calls of downed trees
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office alerted that they had received dozens of reports of downed trees and power lines in the county.
Weather forecasters said that by sunrise in South Carolina, Helene’s effects would slow, including a reduction in strong winds and scattered rain. While thousands are without power in the county, residents will have to brave an 84-degree high temperature. Beaufort County does not have shelters for those without electricity.
To report outages, call the following numbers:
Dominion Energy: 888-333-4465
Palmetto Electric Cooperative: 866-445-5551
For downed trees and power lines call the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office’s non-emergency dispatch line at 843-524-2777.
Hurricane Helene’s winds shattered a tree and stop sign in Port Royal Friday morning. The storm left thousands of Beaufort County residents without power and the roadways strewn with branches and other debris. Karl Puckett Island Packet
5:30 a.m: Areas of Port Royal without power
The Town of Port Royal was without power as Helene battered the Lowcountry with high winds, leaving streets and neighborhoods in the dark.
Between Dominion Energy and Palmetto Electric Cooperative, 116,091 customers are tracked in Beaufort County. Dominion Energy was reported nearly 37,000 customers were without power and Palmetto Electric had 20,000 in need of electricity, according to PowerOutage.us.
A portion of day dock had crumbled, as seen on Friday morning, Sept. 27, 2024 in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Karl Puckett
Residents in some portions of the town, along Ribaut Road, the main north-south road through the area, were without power.
A tropical storm warning was in effect until 7 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service said. A tornado watch remained in effect until 8 a.m., and a high surf advisory will remain in place until 8 p.m.
On Thursday evening, the National Weather Service placed Beaufort County under a tornado watch until 8 a.m. Friday, shortly before a tornado warning expired at 9:15 p.m. Thursday. A tornado watch means twisters are possible in and near the watch area, which typically covers multiple counties or states.
Helene made landfall at 11:10 p.m. Thursday about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida, as Category 4 hurricane 140-mph winds and continued to track north.
This story was originally published September 27, 2024 at 6:41 AM.
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Karl Puckett covers the city of Beaufort, town of Port Royal and other communities north of the Broad River for The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet. The Minnesota native also has worked at newspapers in his home state, Alaska, Wisconsin and Montana.
Sarah Haselhorst, a St. Louis native, writes about climate issues along South Carolina’s coast. Her work is produced with financial support from Journalism Funding Partners. Previously, Sarah spent time reporting in Jackson, Mississippi; Cincinnati, Ohio; and mid-Missouri.
Expected to reach Florida’s Big Bend region late Thursday, the predicted incoming impacts for Hurricane Helene triggered a tropical storm watch for the Lowcountry.
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