The availability of gasoline continues to be a problem for Aiken County residents.

A lack of electrical service at the stations and at a fuel distribution center are the sources of the problem, S.C. Sen. Tom Young, R-Aiken, said in a message to constituents on Tuesday, Oct 1.

The Sunoco fuel supply distribution center at 221 Sweetwater Road in North Augusta lost power during the storm. Power was restored Monday, Sept. 30, but was disrupted again that night.

“It partially went down overnight because a tree fell on the line but that has been fixed as of midday today,” Young said Tuesday, Oct. 1.

At the Parker’s Kitchen at 136 Jefferson Davis Highway in Aiken, the driver of a Waccamaw Transport fuel supply truck said he waited in line four hours at the distribution center to have his tanker filled.

“We had to go to Charleston to get fuel loads when it was down,” he said.

The Circle K store at 2645 Columbia Highway N. was the first station in the area to have electrical power restored. Long lines formed during the weekend as drivers gassed up their cars and filled canisters for fueling generators.

Before dawn on Oct. 1 the store was doing brisk business. By midafternoon the nozzles of every pump were covered by a yellow plastic bag, indicating empty tanks underground.

Across the street at the Raceway at 2664 Columbia Highway N., the tanks were also empty.

Samantha Holtzendorff, manager of the store, praised her employees and other workers as she stocked shelves.

“Everybody’s working hard. The linemen are working hard. The people at the gas station are working hard. The people cooking at Bojangles and McDonald’s are working hard,” she said.

“People just need to be patient,” she said. “We can get gas. We can get groceries. But it’s going to take a little longer.”

“Things are going to get better. We all should be thankful that we’re still here,” Holtzendorff said.

She estimated people were purchasing five times as much gas per day as before the storm. She encouraged people to be conservative in their use of fuel, and to not run generators continuously.

“Run it for three hours and turn it off for three hours. Your freezer will stay frozen,” she said.

Even with electrical service restored and underground tanks replenished, some stores can’t sell gas without internet or 5G cell service, said Nick Blanton, a maintenance technician for Raceway.

“The newer systems require internet or cell service so the pumps can communicate to the point-of-sale system inside the store,” Blanton said. “Without that, you can’t sell gas.”

Young was optimistic that the situation would continue to improve.

“More stores are open all over the county today than yesterday and this weekend so that is helping with the fuel problems and it should help further tomorrow and into the week,” he said.

“Finally, the State Emergency Management encourages residents to use the GasBuddy website or app to learn where gas stations/convenience stores are open on a given day,” Young said.

3:30 p.m. Update

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham will get a first-hand look at the Tropical Storm Helene damage in Aiken.

Graham will provide a media briefing after meeting with local and state officials at 1 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Aiken County Emergency Operations Center.

3 p.m. Update

The North Augusta Public Safety Trunk or Treat event scheduled for Oct. 12 has been postponed.

2:30 p.m. Update

Aiken's H. Odell Weeks Activities Center is closed until further notice.

Dominion is using the facility to house the lineman working to restore power.

The adaptive traffic signal on Whiskey Road will be inoperative until further notice.

1 p.m. Update

Aiken County residents struggling through the Tropical Storm Helene recovery will have longer to file their taxes.

The federal filing deadlines have been extended to May 1, 2025, the Internal Revenue Services announced Oct. 2.

11:45 a.m. Update

Another Tropical Storm Helene-related death in Aiken County has been reported.

Rhonda Gabriel, 66, died Oct. 1 at Aiken Regional Medical Centers, Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables said.

Gabriel’s cause of death was respiratory, Ables added.

Individuals with oxygen needs should contact the South Carolina Department of Health, Aiken County Emergency Management said Oct. 2.

The number is 855-472-3234.

11:30 a.m. Update

The effort to restore power in Aiken County following Tropical Storm Helene appears to be bogging down despite assurances that once work was completed east of Aiken County more workers would be available to restore power.

As more power restoration is completed east of Aiken County, more workers will arrive to turn the lights back on in Aiken County, Dominion Energy South Carolina President Kellar Kissam said Sept. 29 at an Aiken news conference with Gov. Henry McMaster.

As of 10:49 a.m., there are only 1,960 customers without power in areas east of Aiken County that are served by Dominion according to the company's outage map. In fact, there are more Dominion customers in Aiken County without power than in the rest of the area served by Dominion.

But, Dominion reported 33,960 of its 62,074 Aiken County customers remain without power as of 10:49 a.m. Oct. 2.

The company reported 37,328 of its Aiken County customers were without power as of 11 a.m. Oct. 1, meaning 3,387 customers saw their lights come back on in that 24-hour period.

Over 4,000 Aiken County customers saw their lights come back on from Sept. 30-Oct. 1 and around 5,000 Aiken County customers saw their lights come back on from Sept. 29-30.

Aiken Electric Cooperative's outage map was unavailable until Sept. 30 and the map went down again Oct. 1 before returning Oct. 2.

The most recent Facebook post indicates over 26,000 members have their lights back on as of Oct. 2, according to Aiken Electric.

There is no indication where these members are and how many are in Aiken County.

The now-functional outage map indicates 44.5% of Aiken Electric's members in Aiken County remain without power as of 11 a.m. Oct. 2.

There are, however, some options available for Aiken County residents that don't want to spend the day sweating inside of their still-dark homes.

First, many restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores have reopened.

The Salvation Army is offering food and water from 12;15 p.m.-1:30 p.m. at its 604 Park Ave. location, the Aiken County Family YMCA at 621 Trolley Line Rd. and the Edgefield K.J.'s at 155 Carolina Square.

Supplies are also being handled out at the North Augusta Community Center at 495 Brookside Dr.

There are also charging stations and showers at the YMCA.

Charging stations are also available at the North Augusta Goodwill store and SRP Park.

Ice will be distributed at SRP Park beginning at 3 p.m.

And Aiken-Barnwell Mental Health is providing mental health care.

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Work continued Tuesday to restore power to hundreds of thousands of power customers who were still offline after Hurricane Helene.

As of Tuesday, an estimated 618,000 power customers were without electricity, down from a peak of 1.3 million on Friday. Specifically, Aiken County has over 62,000 customers without power.

Utilities have said it could still take days before all customers see their power restored because of the widespread damage.

Gov. Henry McMaster held a briefing Tuesday afternoon from the state’s Emergency Operations Center to update the public on recovery efforts.

McMaster spoke on the 36 causalities throughout the state due to Hurricane Helene. 24 of those were in the CSRA.

Biden says he hopes to visit Helene-impacted areas this week

President Joe Biden was briefed again on Sunday evening about the impact of the devastating storm on an enormous swath of the Southeast.

On Monday night, McMaster and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce said you may be eligible for disaster unemployment assistance — counties include Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell and Saluda.

In addition, McMaster says his expedited major presidential disaster declaration has been approved. They’re working to get approve assistance for Allendale, Edgefield and McCormick counties.

McMaster says 973 National Guard soldier are within the state and more are coming.

“We’re bringing in an Air Force, but Air Guard resource from Florida. It’s called a Red Horse Unit. It’s a small unit, but it brings a lot of capability as it relates to what we need right now, and that’s debris-clearing capability. So, we look forward to having those soldiers or airmen from Florida tomorrow,” said Major General Van McCarty with the S.C. National Guard.

Their mission has been mostly to help clear roads, but now it’s moving to whatever individual counties need.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division also has agents in our area, specifically Aiken, McCormick, Edgefield, Saluda and North Augusta.

More agents are on the way to Allendale, Barnwell, Bamberg, Edgefield and McCormick counties.

WEATHER PICTURES, VIDEOS:

Justin Powell with South Carolina Department of Transportation says over 450 routes are still closed in the state, as of Tuesday.

Powell says power crews and transportation crews are working side by side to resolve the issue.

Mike Leach with South Carolina Department of Social Services says as of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the state has 15 shelters, nine general population shelters and six medical need shelters open.

MREs (Meal Ready-to-Eat) and water have been distributed to Aiken, Allendale, Edgefield, McCormick and Saluda counties, according to Leach.

The Salvation Army is also operating canteens within Aiken, Edgefield, Barnwell and Saluda counties.

Leach says the state has requested 15,000 additional shelf stable meals and water for Aiken County. The water and meals will then be distributed regionally.

“We are meeting the needs being presented to us,” said Leach.

The South Carolina Department of Public Health added that all hospitals across the state have restored power.

During the briefing, a spokesperson with the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation shared some safety tips to practice during a power outage or storm clean up.

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Aiken area colleges and schools remain closed following Tropical Storm Helene.

Aiken Technical College was closed Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, but has not announced a date for reopening. The school has no electrical power, said Nikasha Dicks, the college’s director of Marketing and Communications.

“Once power is restored, we will conduct assessments of our infrastructure," Dicks said. "We are also in touch with local emergency management officials to stay informed of outages and damages throughout the area that may impact our students' and employees' ability to safely travel to campus or participate in remote activities."

“There are some trees down, but the fallen trees don't seem to have damaged buildings. Full assessments of campus buildings and infrastructure will be completed once power has been restored. Until then, we are unable to fully determine if there are damages and if so, the extent,” she said.

“Our primary concerns are the safety and wellbeing of our students and employees,” Dicks said. The school enrolls 2,307 students.

USC Aiken has suspended classes until Monday, Oct. 7, said Christen Engel, vice chancellor of marketing and communication.

She said no buildings on the campus were damaged by the storm, but that some apartments in the Pacer Downs residence hall are still without power.

“Students residing in those impacted apartments are being relocated to alternate residences with power and hot water. All other facilities including residence halls have had power since Saturday,” Engel said.

“Food service has also continued for our students,” she said. Approximately 800 of USCA’s nearly 4,000 students live on campus.

Faculty members have been told to work with their deans and department chairs to develop revised instructional plans for the semester to address missed material, according to a release by the school.

“USCA remains safe and is now focused on the mental and physical well-being of our students, faculty, staff and community as our region continues to face significant challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” the release said. “We want to express our gratitude to all who have stepped up to help, including our student-athletes and campus organizations working to clear tree limbs and debris on campus, and vending partners like Aramark.”

Cleanup operations to remove tree limbs and debris on campus began Sept. 30.

Aiken County Public Schools are on fall break until Monday, Oct. 14. In anticipation of the storm, the district cancelled after school activities on Thursday, Sept. 26, and made Friday, Sept. 27, a remote learning day.

“We apologize for the disruption that this change will cause to our students and families and, as always, appreciate the flexibility and cooperation of our school community,” the district announced.

Mead Hall Episcopal School announced it will not reopen until after its fall break, on Monday, Oct. 14, “due to the impact that this storm has had on our school, our families and our staff.”

“We had hoped to reopen following the restoration of power to our two campuses, but we still do not have any estimate as to when that will be. As well, beyond the damage to the electrical network in Aiken, we have damage to the electrical network on the St. Thaddeus Campus, due to one of the fallen trees. This may take longer to repair after power is restored to the surrounding area,” said Head of School Frank Sawyer.

“We are making progress on repairing and cleaning up both campuses so that when we do reopen school after the fall break, our buildings and playgrounds will be safe and ready for the return of our students on both campuses,” Sawyer said.

“I hope that this week may be one of rebuilding in our community and that the fall break ahead will be restorative and a blessing for our students and families,” he said.

St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School plans to reopen Thursday, Oct. 3, according to a message from the school.

“Please know that our school campus sustained only minimal damage during the storm. We will be ready to welcome students back to campus once power is restored to our area and travel can safely resume on our local roadways,” the announcement said.

Horse Creek Academy will be closed Oct. 1-2, according to a release from the school.

The decision “considers the widespread outages and damage impacting many of our HCA families.”

The school said it would provide an update on Wednesday, Oct. 2, about plans for the remainder of the week.

South Aiken Baptist Christian School posted on its Facebook page that the school and its Early Learning Center “are both without power and there is significant damage on both playgrounds from fallen trees.”

The school cancelled classes Monday and Tuesday, and said it would keep families “updated if further closings are necessary.”

While pummeling the Southeast late last week, Helene knocked down numerous trees in and around Aiken.

They crushed houses and cars, and they also fell across roads.

Locally, Helene generated sustained winds “at or above tropical storm force,” according to Pierce Larkin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Columbia.

A peak gust of 72 miles per hour was reported.

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Trees with shallow or weak roots were especially vulnerable because of the soggy ground from heavy rainfall.

As a result, the damage “was catastrophic in a lot of areas,” said the City of Aiken’s arborist and horticulturist, Aaron Campbell, during a Sept. 29 interview. “We lost a lot of mature, grand and significant trees throughout Aiken.”

In Hopelands Gardens, old pines, deodar cedars and magnolias were among the casualties.

But Blue Peter’s tree, a live oak that stands in the infield of the Aiken Training Track, survived, and so did the live oaks whose limbs form a canopy over South Boundary Avenue, Campbell reported.

Live oaks have “adapted over the centuries from being on the coast, and they are used to being in hurricanes,” he said. “They have strong root systems.”

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In addition, proactive trimming of the live oaks on South Boundary helped them withstand Helene’s destructive forces, Campbell believes.

In the aftermath of the storm, the City of Aiken is focusing on removing the downed trees, but “once we get all of this cleaned up, I’m sure we’re going to come with a plan for replanting in all the parkways,” Campbell said.

Also scheduled to be replaced are the damaged trees along the sidewalks of downtown Aiken that can’t be saved.

“A lot of those are Chinese elm, Chinese pistache and gingko trees,” Campbell said.

The same types probably will be planted again “to keep the uniformity throughout downtown,” he told the Aiken Standard.

The Chinese elm, Chinese pistache and gingko are good choices for downtown because “they are easy on the stormwater system,” said Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh on Sept. 28. “The leaves they drop are small and don’t tend to clog the system.”

Campbell also is the buildings and grounds administrator for the City of Aiken’s Department of Public Services.

“We’re asking everybody to be patient as we go through the cleanup process,” he said.

Bedenbaugh, meanwhile, told the Aiken Standard that there wouldn't be a "one-to-one" replacement of downed trees, but he said that many new ones would be planted "so they can be enjoyed by future generations."

The Arbor Day Foundation has recognized Aiken as a Tree City USA community for 39 years, according to arborday.org.

Tree City USA communities are committed to managing and expanding their urban forests.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters are partners with the Arbor Day Foundation in the Tree City USA program.