BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga. — Monday marked three months since the historic Highway 82 Wildfire in Brantley County, Georgia, ignited.
The fire destroyed over 100 homes and spread over 22,000 miles.
It also damaged many businesses, including Morgan Automotive in Hortense.
Nearly every day for the last three months, the owner of Morgan Automotive, Jesse Morgan, and his team can be found at their shop, loading up the remaining debris from the fire.
“You come out here when you see a big old pile of rubble, and it’s kind of gloom and doom…you get kind of depressed looking at it,” said Morgan. “But once you start seeing a hole knocked in it, and see your accomplishments, then it helps a lot.”
Morgan says the recovery process has been rather slow.
He says he has two Garage Liability insurance policies; however, neither of them provided him any relief.
“They told me again that they’re not going to cover it because it’s an act of God. And they also told me that they are not going to cover it because I didn’t start the fire,” said Morgan.
Action News Jax asked Morgan whether he felt like the government and his local agencies have helped him enough.
“I haven’t heard anything from anybody,” he said while shaking his head.
However, Morgan says he’s grateful for the progress made so far – and the help he’s had from friends and neighbors.
“I just want to thank the people that were reaching out and keep them in their thoughts and prayers. I appreciate that very much,” said Morgan.
Elizabeth Spar lost her home of 27 years to the Highway 82 Wildfire.
“I had woke up that morning. I was doing some dishes, and I looked out my back window and started seeing ashes flying,” said Spear.
What is left of Spear’s home lies in the corner of her property in a pile.
She says rebuilding from the fire has been tough.
“Not promising,” said Spear. (I) Just can’t afford them mobile home payments they want.”
Spear says she had an insurance policy on her home, which gave her enough money for a camper and allowed her to move back to her property two weeks ago.
Despite losing her home, she says she’s grateful for the community’s support.
“I mean everybody’s pulled through. They donated a lot of things,” said Spear. “It’s going to come through. Everything’s going to be OK.”
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