GEORGIA, — East Texas utility crews are answering a call for help in Georgia following Hurricane Helene.
A team from Cherokee County Electric Cooperative travelled to Covington, Georgia, to help residents get the power turned back on following severe weather. Thousands of utility linemen have pitched in to aid the recovery effort.
As of 1:35 p.m. Thursday, the Associated Press reported the death toll from Helene has risen to 40 across Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas.
Cherokee County Electric Cooperative said line workers will work around the clock to repair and replace damaged power lines.
"It's who we are, its what we do," Kody Stanley, a serviceman working for Cherokee County Electric Cooperative, said. "When everyone's turning and running and afraid of storms, it seems like us — the linemen — are going towards the damage just ready to take it on head on, and use the experiences we've gained over the last several years and throughout our careers to do it right, work safely, efficiently, and get the lights back on."
The crew said working in the conditions present in the path of the hurricane are unlike anything back in East Texas.
"You get a lot more going into a hurricane than a regular outage on a Saturday afternoon, when you go in and throw a fuse back in, and you're back home in an hour and a half to two hours," Colby Stroud, a crew foreman with Cherokee County Electric Cooperative, said.
The five member team is expected to be deployed for at least 14 days — time away from home and their loved ones.
"Where we're going, [it's going to be] a minimum two weeks for something like this, maybe even longer. So, its time away from your family and your normal job. It's a lot at times.