The Thanksgiving holiday ended quietly in the Hall County area.

Roads were busy with motorists returning from the holiday, but people were behaving for the most part.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Georgia State Patrol reported 344 wrecks statewide, resulting in 206 injuries. Those numbers compare to 437 wrecks statewide, with 397 injuries, according to the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

The state patrol, however, worked eight fatal accidents last year and had worked nine Sunday. None of the fatalities occurred in Gainesville-based Post 6, which covers Banks, Hall and White counties.

The patrol began Thanksgiving monitoring at 6 p.m. Wednesday and ended it at midnight Sunday.

Area law enforcement was out in large numbers Thursday evening, as many stores that used to open early Fridays for bargain hunters opened at midnight for the first time.

Overall, "the holiday weekend went smoothly," said Officer Kevin Holbrook, spokesman for the Gainesville Police Department.

"We have not experienced many issues as of yet. We didn't work any more accidents than usual, (as was the case) with shoplifters," Holbrook said.

"We tried to take a proactive approach this weekend," he added. "We concentrated on saturated patrols of the shopping centers and main roadways and highways. We wanted to be highly visible to deter the criminal element."

On Friday, Hall County firefighters battled a blaze that got out of control and burned a car and part of a 1,800-square-foot home in the 2600 block of Friendship Road in South Hall.

"It appears to have started from a possibly unattended controlled burn and got into a vehicle that was behind the house ... and then extended on to the house," said Battalion Chief Chad Black.

Damage was estimated to be about $30,000.

Otherwise, the fire department "had a couple of small fires Thanksgiving Day - stoves smoking, mainly," Chief David Kimbrell said.