Peachtree City Walmart partially reopens after devastating fire

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. - A Peachtree City Walmart is preparing to welcome back customers for the first time in four months after a destructive fire forced them to close.

Many Fayette County residents depended on the store, which was heavily damaged by flames on the night of Aug. 24. 

Firefighters said the sprinklers were quickly overwhelmed. The flames at one point were licking the roof, making the structure unstable. It took the combined efforts of the Peachtree City, Coweta County, Fayetteville, and Fayette County fire departments to eventually get the blaze under control hours later. 

One estimate puts the damage at more than $30 million and could top $40 million after restoration efforts are complete.

A 14-year-old girl admitted to starting the fire in the store's paper goods aisle. The case against her was settled confidentially in juvenile court in October. 

Initially store leaders said they were not going to reopen the store until after the first of the year, but they were able to get a limited area of the store up and running for last-minute holiday shoppers.

"There was a tremendous amount of networking in all of this to make this happen today. We had construction crews that were working non-stop from when this happened, they wer working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to get the building to even where we could get back in," Manager Brad Mink said. "Our merchandising teams were working non-stop to even have the merchandise available."

At this time, the store's grocery sections are all fully operational as well as the pet and infant sections and the pharmacy and vision center.

The store even has some toys for those in the community looking for those last-minute gifts.

The Walmart will reopen during a special ceremony with company and city officials at 8 a.m.