Teams from Kentucky Electric Coops head to Florida to help with relief

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – As Hurricane Idalia approaches Florida, the state’s Gulf Coast is already getting hit, and this will just be the start.

“We’ve been through hurricanes before. We know what kind of damage to expect. But we have to make sure the crews we have and the equipment they have is well suited to be able to respond to the areas that will be hit. For instance, if an area has a big storm surge in flooding, you have to make sure you have a vehicle that can handle the terrain after a storm surge comes through. In some cases crews might even be in boats,” said Joe Arnold, with the Kentucky Electric Cooperatives.

Arnold said linemen and women from eight different Kentucky Electric Coops are loading their gear and heading south first thing Wednesday morning. They may need to replace broken poles, or downed wires. Whatever they’re tasked with, they’ll be helping crews who just helped us a few months ago.

“Don’t forget, some of the same areas where are crews will be heading Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday of this week are coops who sent help to Kentucky during the windstorm in March and the ice storm prior to that,” Arnold said.

As they expect millions of people to lose power, Matt Daley’s team with Emergency Disaster Services is heading to Florida to set up base camps for the utility companies.

“We know that we’re going to be needed. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when and where and we want to be in a good position so we can respond quickly,” said Daley.

Crews are leaving their families for days, heading into the unknown that this storm will bring. And, like always, they’d do it again

“They do the hard work. But once they get this in the blood, they’re able to help people. And see the net results there of actually getting people’s lives energized again, they say they can’t wait to get back on the road again,” Arnold said.

Arnold said coops make sure work in their areas is taken care of first. And if needed, more crews will be sent to help throughout the week.

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