Wind Affects Clarkesville Weekend Fire

The investigation continues to figure out what caused a fire at a Habersham County shopping complex over the weekend.

Clarkesville fire crews were called to the Walls Complex, located off of Washington Street in Clarkesville, at 11:47 p.m. Saturday.

According to Clarkesville Fire Chief Jerry Palmer, crews arrived to find heavy smoke and fire spreading through the 17,000 square foot strip mall.

Palmer said that firefighters had to deal with high winds during the fire, with speeds reaching 30 to 40 miles per hour.

He said those winds drove the fire through the building and actually caused firefighters to have to retreat on their first attempt to put out the fire.

However, Palmer said that fire crews reorganized and attacked the wind-driven fire a second time, successfully getting it under control.

According to Palmer, one unit in the shopping complex was destroyed and a second was damaged by smoke and water.

He did say that there were no injuries though.

The State Fire Marshal’s office was called to investigate a possible cause because it was a commercial fire, but Palmer said that there is no evidence that the nature of the fire is suspicious.

Palmer said a report is expected on the fire later in the week.

Assisting Clarkesville fire crews were units from the Demorest Fire Department, Habersham County Fire Department, and Lee Arrendale Correctional Institution.

Also on scene were the Clarkesville Police Department, Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, and Habersham County Emergency Medical Services.

In all, Palmer said there were more than 30 personnel on scene and crews remained on scene for about four hours.

The Clarkesville fire chief said they were blessed to have so much help from other agencies and added he is very proud of his crews for their persistence and how they handled everything on scene and how they fought the fire.