Charles Wincy, Line Technician II, climbs a pole to make repairs to a line on Monday.
The Labor Day weekend was no holiday for OUC line crews, as they continued working to restore power in North Florida in the wake of Hurricane Idalia.
Monday marked the contingent’s sixth straight day on mutual aid deployment, which began on Wednesday, Aug. 30, with a road trip from Orlando to Tallahassee. After completing their mutual aid assistance to the City of Tallahassee Utilities (CTU) at the end of the day Friday, OUC crews were redeployed on Saturday to aid Tri-County Electric Cooperative’s recovery efforts in Greenville, a rural community about 45 miles east of the state capital.
Downed trees and dense vegetation slowed OUC crews working to restore power in Greenville.
Jeff Cockcroft, Line Supervisor, described progress in Greenville as slow going due to dense vegetation that has to be cut away from downed powerlines and the distances between homes.
“It’s very rural here, and there are a lot of trees. We’re having to cut paths to get to downed lines and trim away vegetation before we can begin making repairs,” he said. “We reconnected about 35 homes on one section of line Sunday, but it took us all day. This is not like working in a residential neighborhood.”
William Englert (left bucket), Line Technician II, helps Richard Boley, Lead Line Tech, with repair work on Tri-County Electric Cooperative powerlines.
Cockcroft said he doesn’t know how much longer his crews’ current deployment will continue.
“Storm damage here is pretty extensive, so we’re trying to do as much as we can to lessen the pressure on Tri-County Electric,” he said. “We’ll stay as long as they need us.”
After a day in the field, the three OUC crews of 18 linemen, including Cockcroft, and a Fleet mechanic, commute 35 minutes directly south in their 15-vehicle convoy to Perry/Foley Airport where they’re being housed in campers.
“The campers have air conditioning, and they’re comfortable,” Cockcroft said. “But they didn’t have any pillows, so some of the guys went to Walmart and bought pillows. A good night’s sleep is important after a long day working in the heat.”
Also helping restore power to Tri-County Electric customers are crews from the CTU, Kissimmee Utility Authority and Lakeland Electric.