LAFAYETTE, La. — A team of 35 line workers from South Louisiana Electric Cooperative (SLEMCO) headed out Thursday morning to Florida’s “Big Bend” to assist Talquin Electric Cooperative in power restoration efforts ahead of Hurricane Helene.
Talquin Electric is based in Quincy, Florida, just northwest of Tallahassee, which is right where the storm is projected to hit.
Talquin Electric Cooperative serves around 57,000 customers from the Gulf Coast to the Georgia state line.
Helene is expected to become a Category 4 hurricane, according to our weather experts. The storm is expected to bring severe winds and storm surge.
SLEMCO crews en route include specialists in overhead and underground line construction and tree-trimming. They will bring:
- bucket trucks
- digger-derricks
- material handlers
- off-road equipment
- pole trailers/utility trailers
Mary Laurent, communications coordinator with SLEMCO says crews will be stationed there for two weeks and will switch them out with more crews.
"We know they are going to have a lot of damage being ground zero with a CAT 4 so we are going to be there as long as we need to get power on for their customers," she says.
Click here to read everything you need to know about Helene.
