In 1975, the mansion was heavily damaged in a tornado that struck west and then north Atlanta on the morning of March 24, occurring just a week after Governor Busbee moved in after his inauguration, and necessitating a renovation. It also led to the tornado being called the "governor's tornado", the worst to hit the city until the 2008 storm that hit downtown. Later in 2008, the front door was damaged by fire during another renovation on the afternoon of September 11. The Atlanta Fire Department quickly extinguished the fire, and determined through thermal imaging that the fire had not spread inside the wall. Few people were present and nobody was injured, as it was after work hours, and the governor and his wife were away.