Utility crews from across the United States are en route to Florida to help with power restoration efforts after Helene moves out of the region.
TAMPA, Fla. – It’s not only Florida residents who are preparing for Helene’s onslaught. Utility crews from across the U.S. are headed to the Sunshine State in advance of the storm to help with cleanup and power restoration efforts.
It’s expected that by Wednesday afternoon, the parking lots at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg will be filled with hundreds of utility company trucks that will be sent out once Helene passes and conditions begin to improve.
HELENE RAPIDLY ORGANIZING AS MILLIONS IN FLORIDA PREPARE FOR LANDFALL OF MAJOR HURRICANE
Crews from as far as Ohio are headed to Florida to help, including thousands of tree trimmers and bucket trucks to help repair storm damage and restore power when it’s safe enough to do so.
And safety is the top priority.
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The power outage forecast from Helene.
(FOX Weather)
“Basically, we stage these folks far enough from the storm so they’re safe,” said Ana Gibbs, of Duke Energy Florida. “And the resources, both people and materials, are protected. But they’re close enough to the storm that when that storm hits, as soon as it’s safe to respond, we’ll be able to deploy the resources so that they can get the power back on as quickly and safely as possible.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said nearly 18,000 linemen are already staged, and more are on the way.