WAYNESVILLE, Ga. — Many Brantley County residents are either coping with the loss of their homes that have burned down in the Highway 82 Fire, or trying to keep their untouched homes safe from the flames.
Now just imagine you’re a home builder trying to protect several houses from the wildfires, including your own. That’s the dilemma facing Gator Deschenes of Waynesville.
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Gator, his wife Dixie Deschenes, and a friend all evacuated last week.
“It was a little bit scary because we waited until like 5 o’clock on Tuesday and when we drove out of the subdivision, the flame was right there,” Gator Deschenes said.
He said they drove out of their subdivision to Old Highway 259 and saw the flames coming toward them.
“It was coming this way, matter of fact it just jumped in on this site here and we had a little bit of grass burning here there and there and when we got out of here, we had to be escorted by a fire pick up truck,” Gator Deschenes said.
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Dixie Deschenes left behind a Christian statue outside their home for protection—something that used to belong to her late mother. When Gator and Dixie returned home, their house … their houses were still standing.
“The fire went all the way around this neighborhood. The firemen worked their butts off,” Dixie Deschenes said.
As for how much it would have cost if their property was damaged:
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“If you add them all up together, I’m building six of them in the area right now, so yeah would be way over $1 million in damage,” Gator Deschenes said.
He said he’s thankful and praying considering he knows people who lost their homes. Precipitation Sunday into Monday helped contain the fire at least temporarily, something Dixie’s been hoping for.
“You know, the Indian rain dance, but I had nobody to work with so I did it myself. It started raining about an hour later and I’m like ‘Oh thank you Jesus’ and I’m jumping up and down, I’m excited,” Dixie Deschenes said.
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