Lewis County REC Sending Crews To Hurricane Michael Area

For the second time this fall, Lewis County REC is sending crews to help repair damage expected to be caused by Hurricane Michael. The crew of 3 linemen and 3 trucks will leave Lewistown this morning and stage in Alabama ahead of the storm.

Once it is safe to travel, they will drive to Quincy, Florida where they will assist crews at Talquin Electric Cooperative, a 53,000-member cooperative located near Tallahassee.

“Plans are in place, and Talquin is prepared to receive 500 additional personnel who have offered to assist with power restoration,” said Tracy Bensley, general manager of Talquin Electric Cooperative.

Co-ops in the path of Michael held the first of several planning and status teleconferences to discuss preparations and readiness Monday afternoon. They reached out to Missouri because the storm could reach well into surrounding states, making assistance from those states unavailable as their crews work their own local outages.

Missouri’s electric cooperatives will send 123 linemen from 23 of the state’s cooperatives to lend a hand.  The names of the linemen traveling to Florida will be announced upon their safe return home.