Forest Acres’ sprirt ‘alive and well’ in Helene’s wake

Hurricane Helene’s winds swept through Forest Acres last week. Over 200 trees in the 4.98 square mile city fell due to the gusts.

Three areas were hit particularly hard – Fernwood, Pinebranch and Satchelford Roads, the college streets by Citadel Park and Lakeshore Dr, Eastshore Rd and the Forest Lake Country Club.

The Forest Lake Country Club had 50 downed trees alone, Lynnsey Baker, Forest Acres public information officer, said.

“We had more than 30 roadways blocked at the height of the storm,” Baker said. “We’ve got trees that fell on houses, trees that fell on cars, multiple cars, you know, and that’s not even an account of trees that fell just on property and didn’t take out a house or a car.”

The National Weather Service of Columbia doesn’t plan to survey Forest Acres, meteorologist Pierce Larkin said.

They recorded a 67-mile-an-hour wind gust and multiple others that were 60 mph. Larkin said they believe those gusts are primarily what caused the damage in Forest Acres.

Forest Acres has 6226 customers, including homes and businesses. Over 40% of those customers lost power at the height of the storm, Baker said.

Only 67 customers were still without power as of Wednesday, accounting for 1% of the city. The city is trying to warn residents of what could come even though a majority of power has been restored.

“If the tree was not leaning before and it’s leaning now, that’s a red flag,” Baker said. “If you can see the root system or any mounding around the base of the tree where the roots are trying to pull up, that’s a red flag that tree needs to come down.”

Baker said residents should assess their property and have tree removal companies do an assessment to reduce the risk of leaning trees. There are still trees falling this week in Forest Acres, Baker said.

“We’re also very concerned about falling branches, branches that may be caught up in a tree and then fall,” Baker said. “That is called a widowmaker, and we are very concerned about those to fall.”

The community of Forest Acres has been “absolutely amazing” in the wake of disaster, Baker said.

Chick-fil-A, Chicken Salad Chick, Boca Grande and Vavia, a dumpster rental service, all provided food to Forest Acres’ public works staff, police department and city hall staff.

“A mom and a son brought us food, a lady in one of our streets brought us food,” Baker said. “Rockbridge Club fed over 100 plus people, maybe 200 people. They went out and found linemen, Chick-fil-A was feeding linemen. We’ve been all over, not only feeding our people, but also feeding life.”

Steven Powell has lived in Forest Acres for 22 years. He’s a board member at the Rockbridge Club, and they opened their doors for the community for shelter, internet, water and power. 

 They packaged 225 meal boxes to hand out to those seeking shelter, as well as workers. This was nothing new for Forest Acres, Powell said. 

“This is a tight community,” Powell said. “Things go bad for people, or things aren’t going right, people jump in all the time. This was just on a larger scale.”

Some of Powell’s friends helped saw their neighbors’ trees and tree limbs and pull debris to the curb. Giving back is what it’s all about, Powell said. 

“The spirit of Forest Acres is alive and well and strong, and I think that is what’s so special and unique about living in our community – is that we go above or beyond to take care of our own.”