Augusta lifts overnight curfew that was imposed after Helene
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson said Wednesday an overnight curfew has been lifted.
He said the city has been able to do that because so many more traffic signals are back on now.
In fact, the Georgia Department of Transportation said all traffic signals in Richmond County were repaired by Tuesday, though power still remained out to some of them.
Johnson warned that people should try not to be on the roads at night if they don’t have to be there.
He reminded residents to treat intersections as a four-way stop if there’s no working traffic light.
The hours of the curfew have varied since the hurricane hit.
Helene’s victims include first responders who died helping others
Among Helene's victims were two Saluda County firefighters, but they were not alone in dying as heroes as the storm lashed the region.
The first night, on Sept. 27, it was announced at 9:59 p.m. and began one minute later.
After that, it was changed to 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
For the past few days, it has been 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Thoughout this time, Johnson has blamed roads , although the exact reasons have changed,
First getting the blame was the darkness due to the vast majority of the city being without electricity.
Earlier this week, he said the curfew was still needed because too many street lights were still out.
FEMA says aid is flowing freely into CSRA after Helene
President Joe Biden issued a major disaster declaration in Georgia and ordered federal aid for individuals to supplement state and local recovery efforts.
That’s despite touting at the same news conference that power was on to 90% of the city and saying last Thursday in a news conference at the utilities building downtown: “I actually drove from this location to Wrightsboro Road along the Washington Road corridor. All of the lights were working.”
At Monday’s news conference, he singled out south Augusta – a part of town some residents feel has historically been neglected – where there are “a lot of” signals still out.
MORE FROM NEWS 12:
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- Acts of kindness: Help flows in after Hurricane Helene
- Shelters: Where to go if Helene impacted you in the CSRA
- List: School, closures and reopening plans after Helene
Other communities have also eased or even lifted curfews that were imposed in the aftermath of Helene.
McDuffie County dropped its curfew this week.
Aiken County had been among the first places to announce a curfew, but it was lifted within a few days.
Columbia County has also had a curfew but by Tuesday had eased it back to 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. It had originally been from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
The curfew came after the mayor and other local officials had blocking thoroughfares or teetering on the brink of falling.
Other curfews in the area have included:
- Edgefield County from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m.
- Saluda County from 6:30 p.m. to 8 a.m.
- Warren County from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
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