Utility crews from Nebraska are on their way to help out in Florida as the Sunshine State heads towards some potentially dark days when Hurricane Michael moves through.
Rachel Barth with Lincoln Electric System tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB that they sent crews out Wednesday morning, headed for Tallahassee. "We usually try to help out, especially other public power utilities. So we jumped on it and we sent fourteen guys down and we also had Grand Island Utilities join us and they sent six guys."
Barth says LES is part of a mutual aid agreement, which dispatches crews all over the country to help out during times of need, such as natural disasters like Michael. "With public power, it's reinvesting in the community. Whether it's our community or helping other people out of state. In talking to our linemen the last couple days, they all had the same thing. They all kept saying, 'It's just bred in us. We want to help people. So I think they all feel honored."
The Nebraska crews, Barth says, will help with above and below ground work in Tallahassee after Michael leaves his mark. "Anything from overhead work, so replacing poles that maybe were snapped, fixing downed lines, switching out transformers, to if there were any underground cables that were damaged maybe to flooding."
The Nebraska crews are expected to spend at least ten to fourteen days helping out in Florida.