Boone Electric Cooperative sends team to help with Irma relief

A team of seven linemen, four trucks and one fuel tanker truck are heading to Georgia and Florida to help restore power to millions of people after Hurricane Irma.

At last check, about one million people in Georgia did not have power, while it’s estimated half the state of Florida is in the dark and could be for the foreseeable future.

Missouri Electric Cooperatives will be split between Georgia and Florida locations. Once the crews from Georgia are released, they are expected to head to Florida.

One of the biggest obstacles to restoring power is the debris littering the streets. Trees were uprooted and are blocking roads or laying on power lines. Once the debris is moved and trucks are able to drive through neighborhoods, manpower is going to be the best thing to get power restored.

Missouri’s electric cooperatives have helped out with hurricane relief in the past. The first hurricane they responded to was in 2004, when Hurricane Ivan hit the Gulf Coast. Electric co-ops in Louisiana and Mississippi have also returned help in Missouri, helping to restore power after ice storms in 2007 and 2009.

Relief crews are coordinated by the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, the statewide service organization for the state’s electric cooperatives. Its emergency assistance program began in 1948.