DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County was feeling the impacts of power outages due to Helene.
A few trees fell on power lines, knocking out power for several neighborhoods.
Over 200 residents on McCurdy Road were without power. Some tell 11Alive they haven't had electricity since Friday morning.
Mason McConnell watched the tree fall in front of his home.
“They cut the tree off the power line that was laying down," McConnell said. "It was under a huge amount of tension. And it immediately just sprang up out from under all the debris. And that’s when it snapped the top half of the pole off.”
McConnell's neighbor, Don Andersen, said he was volunteering at his church's shelter when the storm hit. He and others stood outside to watch crews work to fix the pole.
"They've had to put up a whole new pole," Andersen said. "And then, they also have to reconnect all the wires."
Crews were able to restore power. However, the same thing happened 30 minutes away in the Lithonia/Stonecrest area.
A tree toppled over on New Castle Circle and blocked the roadway. Hubert Lee said he had neighbors who needed the pathway cleared faster.
The neighborhood on McCurdy Road has another entrance, but New Castle Circle does not. There is one way in and one way out.
"It's a lot of older people in here, older retired people. And quite a few of them are sick," Lee continued. "We got people here on oxygen that need oxygen that can't come in."
So, there was no power, no path out, and no way Lee was showing any more patience. Some cars did choose to drive under the tree, but Lee said it was too risky.
"Ambulance can't get in here. What if a fire breaks out?" Lee said.
Lee said he started helping his neighbors and calling every official to get someone out to the neighborhood. Crews didn't start working on the powerline until 7 p.m. Saturday. Then, a tree company showed up about an hour later. This was a day and a half since the power went out.
Lee said some residents have had to travel on foot in the meantime.
"Walk and get your food; people are Ubering. They can't come in because of the tree here," Lee said. "They've got to come up here and wait on an Uber. It's not right."
It took dozens of workers to get the lights back on. Cutting the tree took hours, but by around 11 p.m., the road was cleared.