Hurricane Irma has plowed into Georgia leaving hundreds of thousands in the state without power. Today, 31 Michigan co-op linemen are headed south to help Georgia co-ops, Irwin EMC and Middle Georgia EMC, bring the lights back on.
The Michigan team will stay in southern Indiana tonight. After a safety briefing tomorrow morning lead by Joe McElroy, MECA’s safety director, the group will head to Athens, Tennessee where they will stay tomorrow evening before heading into Georgia on Wednesday morning.
A big thank you to MECA safety personnel Joe McElroy and Tom Ulatowski for spending a good portion of their weekend working with electric co-op mutual aid coordinators from the impacted areas to offer Michigan’s assistance and develop a plan of support. And thanks to all MECA distribution co-op members, for your support and participation in this mutual aid initiative. Please keep our linemen in your thoughts and prayers as they help our fellow co-ops in southern Georgia over the coming several days.
Cherryland – 4 linemen
Midwest – 3 linemen
Ontonagon – 2 linemen
Thumb – 2 linemen
Alger Delta – 2 linemen
Great Lakes – 9 linemen
Presque Isle – 5 linemen
HomeWorks – 4 linemen
You should be ashamed to have put this out and then sent all these lineman home without aiding anyone the very next morning! I’m embarrassed for Michigan that we’re not helping in what is basically a national crisis. Where’s your news release that you turned them back at the Georgia border the morning after you wrote this piece without giving one single hour of aid?