Photo courtesy: SWEPCO
By: Konner Marsh
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – Electric line workers from Northwest Arkansas are helping those without power from Hurricane Helene.
According to the National Weather Service, Helene is the largest hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Louisiana in 2005.
The storm ripped through parts of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and surrounding states.
More than 6 million people were affected by Hurricane Helene.
That is why Southwestern Electric Power Company line workers are assisting Appalachian Power to restore power in northeast Tennessee, southern West Virginia and southwest Virginia.
After its initial devastation on Sept. 26, Appalachian Power had more than 282,000 customers without power.
Three-thousand of these customers are still without power.
Shanda Hunter, with SWEPCO, says that is the reason why 100 line workers from northwest Arkansas are helping out.
However, they are running into challenges.
Hunter says that due to mountainous terrain in affected areas, crews are having difficulty restoring power quickly.
“It’s been a really dangerous time to get power restored in these areas. The terrain in the Appalachian Mountains are difficult to safely get power restored, so crews have had to navigate those challenges,” Hunter said.
She says workers at SWEPCO have been assisting Appalachian Power for the past two weeks to restore power to these areas.
Now, they are working to return home, and new workers are lacing up their boots.
Hunter says that 69 professionals will travel to Tallahassee, Florida and Daphne, Alabama to assist Tampa Electric with damage potentially caused by Hurricane Milton.
Milton was declared a category 5 hurricane yesterday and is expected to make landfall on Wednesday.
The hurricane is predicted to hit western Florida, affecting the state’s Gulf Coast.
Florida has already issued an evacuation warning for anyone in the direct path of the hurricane.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference yesterday to prepare Floridians for Milton.
According to DeSantis, a state of emergency has been issued in 51 countries expected to be affected by Milton.
To prepare for this potentially devastating hurricane, DeSantis says more than 600 missions to provide relief have been declared by the State Emergency Response Team.
Toll roads in Florida have also been suspended to provide people an easy way out of the hurricane’s path.
Hunter says that crews have not officially been given instructions on where they will assist parts of Florida.
She says that SWEPCO’s 100 linemen make up the 7,360 mutual aid partners assisting Appalachian Power in the tropics.
So far, crews have been able to replace 583,000 feet of electric line, as well as replacing 885 poles and 285 transformers.
Hunter says that SWEPCO workers will continue to serve these areas as long as it takes to restore power for all.