FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WKRG) – When someone extends a helping hand, or in this case a lifeline, it’s always nice to return the favor.
“They were here for us when they didn’t know what they were coming into with Hurricane Sally and being able to go and help them just really makes us feel good about being able to do that,” said Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan.
10 linemen from Fairhope Public Utilities are hitting the road Wednesday morning for Gainesville, Fla., a community bracing for potential impacts from Hurricane Ian later this week. Two years ago when Hurricane Sally slammed into Baldwin County, thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted and Gainesville Regional Utility crews were some of the first on the ground to restore power in Fairhope.
“You kind of build a camaraderie kind of a brotherhood amongst the linemen when people come to your community after a disaster and help you clean up,” explained Sullivan.
Right now the need is unknown, but Mayor Sullivan expects crews to assist with power outages as early as Thursday morning when Hurricane Ian’s damaging winds and rain bands are expected to impact the Florida peninsula.
You can donate snacks and care packs for these linemen who plan to be gone for several days. Those donations can be dropped off at the public utilities office on Section Street through Wednesday morning at 7 a.m.
“When these crews came in we were scrambling to provide them breakfast or snacks, so we’re going to go ahead and get some snacks organized so we’re asking the community if they’d like to donate power aid, Gatorade, honeybuns,” said Mayor Sullivan.
Crews plan to leave Wednesday morning by 8 a.m.