A group of Sault arborists, employed by Wilderness Environmental Services, began their journey south to Florida Friday to help with the massive cleanup effort to be done in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
Irma is one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded, having already struck several Caribbean islands, claiming at least 17 lives and causing catastrophic damage.
Residents of parts of Florida have been told to evacuate as Irma heads their way.
The group of 21 Sault men (20 labourers and one foreman) crossed the International Bridge to head to Cincinnati, then will gather at a marshalling area in Perry, Georgia, said Rob Brewer, Wilderness Environmental Services president, speaking to SooToday.
“(From there) they’ll head into north Florida, likely Sunday or Monday. They’re literally driving into the storm, the storm is projected to come over where they’ll be bedded down,” Brewer said.
The crew will be working for Duke Energy, one of the major utility companies in the U.S., clearing up piles of tree debris left in the wake of Hurricane Irma’s destructive path while Duke Energy crews work to restore power.
“The utility crews will pair a line crew with one of our own forestry crews, and they’ll just go from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, getting power restored,” Brewer said.
The Wilderness team left the Sault in a caravan of seven forestry bucket trucks, each of which can elevate a worker up to 70 feet to work on trees, along with three smaller company trucks.
Brewer said he anticipates the group will be gone for at least two weeks, “or significantly longer, like six to eight weeks, depending on how much damage there is.”
“They’ll go to wherever they’re needed in Florida.”
Brewer said Algoma Power, Wilderness Environmental Services utility partner, “has been very generous in sparing the manpower to go down and help. That seems to be the trend in the business, that everybody understands in these catastrophes it’s all hands on deck to get things back to normal.”
Brewer said Wilderness mobilized about 100 personnel to help out with ice storms in Toronto two decades ago.
“Our team has had some experiences with other types of disasters, but this is a very significant event. This isn’t the type of hurricane that happens every three years, they’re saying this is probably the most severe one that’s hit in the past couple of decades.”
“When you’re in the utility business you’re involved in incidents where there are significant power interruptions, and when these things happen, you really can’t deal with it with just the local contingent, you really need everybody from all over to come in and give you a hand.”
“They’re pulling in crews from all over North America.”
Brewer said he is proud of the Wilderness crew heading south.
“It’s what we do.”
“Most people drive away from a hurricane, they don’t drive towards it. It takes a really unique person to do this.”
Utility officials in the U.S. will be organizing accommodations for the Wilderness crew, ranging from motel rooms (if any are available) to tent camps.
Brewer said Duke Energy will provide food for the workers and fuel for their trucks.
“They’re very well taken care of, to the best of that utility’s ability.”
Still, Brewer said most of the crew members are leaving spouses and families behind, with no firm return date, working 16-hour days.
“They’ll come back when it’s done, and that takes a lot of courage.”