Hurricane Helene anniversary: Georgia timber industry recovery ongoing

Ben Gillis's family has owned land in Soperton since the 1830s. For the last year, his company, Gillis AG & Timber, has spent nearly $1 million in recovery and cleanup efforts following Hurricane Helene. The storm cruised through the state as a Catergory 2 on Sept. 26, 2024. Gillis said that while his company began cleanup efforts almost immediately following Helene, he still has to clear three or four tracks of felled timber, some of which his father and grandfather had planted.