LAKE COUNTY >> About 125 Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) crew members returned to California recently after working tirelessly in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Florida, including two linemen from Lake County.
Along with six other workers from Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, Erik Morring, from Kelseyville, and Manuel Adams, from Lakeport, said goodbye to their families and packed their bags on September 8.
“We were there for about 15 days, but we knew we could be there for an unknown amount of time,” said Adams. “We went without any expectations.”
Crew members were welcomed by Florida employees at a county airport in West Palm Beach to train and load trucks just two days before the Category 4 storm hit the state.
Shortly after the hurricane blew through the area, the linemen were out restoring power and broken polls. They then traveled across the state to Punta Gorda to do the same for those affected.
California wasn’t the only state to send help. The company sent workers from all over the country to help 6.8 million people that lost power, 4.4 million of which were Florida Power and Light (FPL) customers.
“I saw probably about 100 different crews from all over the country,” said Erik Stockley, a PG&E foreman from Willits.
According to PG&E, crews responded to more than 650 repair jobs, ultimately restoring over 41,000 customers. That estimates to more than 20,000 hours of effort from line workers during their two-week deployment.
As part of a 2014 mutual-aid agreement between FPL and PG&E, line workers, equipment operators, supervisors and other personnel were able to travel with costs covered. PG&E said the “historic, cross-continent” agreement pledged support in the event of a natural disaster, like a hurricane in Florida or an earthquake in California. Logistics, common work procedures and safety protocols were also included in the agreement.
After crews arrived in Florida, the mutual-aid agreement expanded by allowing about 30 Sacramento-based representatives to take FPL customer calls.
Hurricane Irma, the strongest storm in the Atlantic since Wilma in 2005, has caused $100 billion in damages. Such was the catastrophe that power was not expected to be restored for months to come.
That extended waiting period wasn’t the case for most of Florida, however.
“I think when we got there 95 percent of the state was down and when we left only 5 percent was down,” Stockley said. “We saw line workers from every state and Canada. It was the largest gathering of workers I had ever seen.”
Together, they worked to restore the power grid — something workers refer to as the “backbone” of a community.
Morring, Adams, and Stockley all agreed that even when disaster strikes and power is out, a community itself is “its own backbone.”
And they experienced that first hand during a workday.
Local, mobile eatery Burnt Offering BBQ Co. owners made their driveway available and fed about 40 line workers. The cook, John Marrero, prepared hot meals and offered water all day long.
“He had a barbecue on his driveway and just fed us. It was one of the friendliest deeds,” Adams said.
Marrero recalled a similar situation where line crews from around the country restored the power in his hometown. When Irma hit this year, he knew he had to repay them with what he believes is the solution to all problems: barbecue. Plate after plate, crews had the chance to taste the cook’s gourmet burgers and hot dogs. He said, “Sometimes the pay isn’t worth the effort. At this time in our country, we have to take these opportunities to unify and not be divisive and angry. I just feel that it’s better to show love.”
The hospitality did repel Florida’s hard-to-adjust humidity, something the linemen testified to being one of the most challenging parts.
“Going from triple-digit California weather to post-hurricane conditions under 94 degrees and very humid was difficult. Because they have different terrain and panels, it took a day or so to adjust,” Stockley said.
Nonetheless, the linemen said it was the “little things” from locals that helped them execute their duties in areas left severely damaged.
“We got honks and waves. People would roll down their windows and say ‘thank you’ all day long,” said Adams.
This wasn’t the first time the Lake County crew flew out of the state for recovery rescue. Adams had previously spent 10 days in Washington for storm damage repair. Stockley spent some time restoring power again in Florida after Hurricane Charley struck in 2004. This year, other PG&E employees, including some from the Bay Area, reported that they had just returned from a deployment to Texas for Hurricane Harvey and were sent to Florida just two days later.
The Northern-Califonia crews returned home on Saturday, September 23. Storm soldiers, a term PG&E used on those deployed, flew into Sacramento where they were greeted by company leaders and family members.
“We’re incredibly impressed, but not at all surprised, by the accomplishments of our co-workers who helped turn the lights back on in Florida. Restoring power is a crucial step in returning back to normalcy, and we’re honored that PG&E could play a part,” said Nick Stavropoulos, President and Chief Operating Officer of Pacific Gas and Electric Company in a prepared statement.
