Ontario power workers head to Florida to help with clean-up of Hurricane Milton

While many Canadians will be spending the weekend getting ready for Thanksgiving meals and celebrations, 150 Ontario workers will be in Florida to help get the lights back on in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

The category 4 hurricane is expected to hit the Tampa Bay area by force on Wednesday evening or early on Thursday with mass evacuations underway for days.

The hurricane has already led to tornadoes and heavy rain on Wednesday as it headed inland as officials issued a plea to residents to leave or risk injury or death.

“Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now,” said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County.

Fresh from helping workers in Georgia after the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene last month, Hydro One says 100 power line workers and another 50 forestry workers are currently on route to assist Florida Power and Light once Milton moves off.

Hydro One is part of the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group and has agreements in place with utilities services to provide assistance during significant power outages.

“Our highly skilled employees are trained to work on both transmission and distribution systems making them incredibly valuable to other utilities,” Hydro One said in a statement to INsauga.com.

All costs are covered by the utilities receiving help, Hydro One said.

Hydro One says it has received 14 emergency response awards from the Edison Electric Institute for its storm recovery efforts, including for work following the California wildfires, Hurricane Irma, and the nor’easter storms Riley and Quinn in 2018.

Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 people dead across the South after it hit on Sept. 24.

In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge could toss it around and compound any damage.

Milton, which has fluctuated in intensity as it approaches Florida, was a strong Category 4 hurricane at midday Wednesday. It is expected to remain a hurricane after hitting land and plowing across the state including the heavily populated Orlando area through Thursday.

– With files from Ryan Rocca and The Associated Press