CRISP COUNTY, Ga. — The National Weather Service confirmed Crisp County was hit by an EF-1 tornado with maximum winds of 100 mph early Wednesday morning, according to weather service meteorologist Steven Nelson.
The decision was made after National Weather Service staff surveyed the damage from the scene.
A tornado warning was issued for Crisp, Dooly and Sumter counties just before 4:50 a.m. on Wednesday. Crisp County officials said the spin-up caused some serious damage.
"There are multiple structures with major and minor damage in the Scenic Route and Cedar Creek area," Crisp County Public Information Officer Haley Wade said. "There are multiple downed trees, downed power lines, the possibility of gas leaks."
On Facebook, Crisp County Sheriff Billy Hancock said the total path of the tornado was roughly 6.3 miles and the sheriff's office said it impacted 36 homes. Of those homes, 19 houses suffered "major damage."
"A lot of debris, a lot of nails, a lot of woods, a lot of downed trees, a lot of powerlines," Sheriff Billy Hancock said in a Facebook video. "It is a safety issue."
He said the tornado crossed Coney Road just south of Lake Blackshear Baptist Church and moved to the northeast.
North Cedar Creek, Landing Road and the Scenic Route area are closed as they work to clear the areas and make them accessible to emergency services. They also highlighted the danger of downed powerlines.
"Understand, when we tell you the road is closed, we have a reason to tell you," Hancock said in a Facebook video.
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IMAGES: Storm damage in Crisp County
The office set up a command center at Lake Blackshear Baptist Church and asked the public to avoid the area. They allowed some construction workers to enter the areas after checking in with the sheriff's office.
"Because if something happens to you, we want to know to be able to come check on you," Hancock said. "We just want to know that you are in there; we want to make sure our citizens are safe."
The tornado prompted a state of emergency declaration for the Scenic Route and Cedar Creek areas of Lake Blackshear, Wade said.
The declaration gives authorities expanded emergency powers, activates mutual aid pacts and gives the county the legal ability to impose curfews and evacuations. However, Wade says there are no evacuation orders or curfews in place right now.
They also say the local emergency declaration can pave the way for state and federal aid, since they typically require a local declaration to be in place before they open up other funding sources.