Kansas City-area crews head south to help with Hurricane Ian response

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Crews from the Kansas City area are already heading south to help Florida recover from destruction after Hurricane Ian makes landfall.

Evergy said 500 contractors are driving to the Gulf Coast to help repair any transformers, power lines, or additional energy infrastructure that is damaged by the storm.

Members of the Independence Power & Light Department are also heading south to help. The extent of the time they will be in the Gulf Coast to help restore power will be determined by the amount of damage.

Energy crews aren’t the only teams from the Kansas City metro standing by to help victims of Hurricane Ian.

Operation BBQ Relief packed up already over the weekend. The group currently has equipment staged in nearby states. It also prepared its warehouse in Tampa.

“Those larger semi rigs have already rolled out and we’re prepositioning those outside of Atlanta so we have them in striking distance so we can move in, but far enough away that we will not be in harms way,” Stan Hays, Operation BBQ Relief Co-Founder, said in a Facebook post earlier this week.

After the storm moves through Florida, the organization will relocate to some of the hardest-hit areas to feed thousands of victims. The group is also accepting monetary donations to help feed victims.

In addition to food and smokers, the organization has a new shower and bath house that contains four showers and four restrooms. The trailer also has four washer and dryer units. Operation BBQ Relief said the facilities will mainly be used for staff and volunteers, but does plan to open the trailer to hurricane victims as needed.

A Disaster Response Team from Lenexa-based Heart to Heart International is focused on helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Fiona’s wrath. The organization is also monitoring Hurricane Ian and contacting partners in the anticipated areas of impact.