The Dade County (Georgia) Commission is considering using the county sheriff's office to patrol the highway that leads to Cloudland Canyon State Park to prevent outsiders from visiting after hundreds of people flocked to the park despite officials asking people to practice social distancing.
County Commission Chairman Ted Rumley said at the county's daily news conference Wednesday the commission will vote on a resolution at Thursday's meeting asking Gov. Brian Kemp to close the park.
Rumley said he spoke with Kemp for a half hour on Wednesday about the park and what it would take to close it.
"We can't close down Cloundland Canyon," Rumley said of the county commission. "It is owned by the state of Georgia and controlled by the state of Georgia."
However, after talking to Kemp, Rumley didn't believe the governor would go for a full closure.
"I don't think that he will do that," Rumley said.
If Kemp decides not to close the park, the commission will work with the sheriff's office to patrol the road and not let visitors from other counties enter the park, Rumley said. Under the state of emergency in Dade County, the commission and law enforcement have the right to allow only locals in and out of the park, he said.
Over the weekend, hundreds of people from around the area flocked to Cloudland Canyon despite federal, state and local mandates requiring or urging people to practice social distancing and to stay at home as much as possible.
The Georgia Department of Public Health also reported its first confirmed case of the coronavirus in Dade County on Monday night, putting the county and its residents on high alert.
Rumley and state Rep. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, said their phones were flooded with calls from people urging the park to be closed.
On Monday, the Department of Natural Resources - the body that oversees state parks - issued new guidelines for visitors that include a 150-car limit in the park at one time and limitations for hiker access to the canyon and waterfall trails.
Rangers will be stationed at high-traffic areas to make sure people are keeping a safe distance away from each other, and some trails will be limited to 10 people at a time, including the waterfall trail.
Many people in the community have said on social media that they don't believe the new measures are strict enough.
Moore floated the idea for the commission to completely close down the county's borders. Rumley said that would be easier said than done.
Bordering two states and having two interstates run through Dade County would make closing down its borders extremely difficult, Rumley said.
With Kemp's shelter-in-place order starting Friday, the commission may hold off on patrolling the highway and will update the community at its daily news conference at 3 p.m., Rumley said.
"I didn't think it would come to this, but this thing's not getting any better," he said. "We're probably not even halfway through this."
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com.