Ashville, North Carolina — After several days of repairs in Ohio, a team of about 70 Iowa utility workers is now in western North Carolina, helping to restore power to tens of thousands of customers who were hit by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.
Line mechanic and crew leader Lee Tyler, of Le Mars, has worked for MidAmerican Energy nearly 20 years. Tyler says there’s nothing he’s seen in the Asheville area so far that’s surprised him, not after all of the storms, tornadoes and derechos that have lashed Iowa.
The crews are working mostly 16-hour days, and come home understandably exhausted to catch a little shut-eye in tents, trailers, and trucks.
Aside from the paycheck, Tyler was asked what keeps him motivated on this type of mission, working long hours in challenging conditions far from home.
A simple thank you goes a long way, too. The Iowa utility crews were gratified to get up one morning to find someone had taped a hand-lettered thank you note to one of their bucket trucks, along with a heart and a smiley face.
Tyler talked with Radio Iowa via satellite phone, as there are precious few cell towers still standing in the North Carolina mountains. He says they’re methodically restoring power to 200 customers at time, and sometimes just one or two houses. It’s anybody’s guess how long it’ll take to get this job done and come home, he says. There are conflicting rumors it may be a matter of days, weeks, or even a month.
The destruction from the winds and flooding is extensive, he says. Helene is being called one of the deadliest and most expensive storms ever to hit the nation, with more than 200 dead, hundreds listed as missing, and damage some estimates peg at 34 billion dollars.
