RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Hurricane Helene continues to leave crews working to restore power in the Carolinas. For days, some families have found themselves without it.
“I’ve worked storms for 17 years for this company, and I think this is one of the more personal and emotional storms I’ve seen our crews involved in,” said Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy.
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Brooks said about 20,000 line and tree workers from 20 states and even Canada have focused their efforts in some of the hardest hit areas. In a little over a week, Brooks said those crews have helped restore power to about 3 million customers. He said another 60,000 customers still need their help.
“Now we’re getting into those really hard-hit areas that are just going to take a while to rebuild, and in some cases, we don’t have structures to return power to,” said Brooks.
The power company said they placed at least three mobile substations that will provide temporary power to areas where they continue to focus on permanent repairs. Brooks said they are also in the process of activating a mobile command center in the regional part of the state that will help them prioritize impacted areas.