Irwin EMC linemen working around the clock to restore power to Ocilla

OCILLA, Ga. – Sights like this nearly uprooted power line on North Beech Street have been common in Irwin county following Hurricane Helene’s onslaught. And, crews have been working around the clock since then to restore power.

We managed to speak with Irwin County’s EMC about the restoration efforts as all hands have been on deck since Friday.

“We are on day four of restoration efforts. At the height of the storm, as soon as the storm came through, we had over 11,000 meters out of 12,000 meters that were out. So, about 97% of our system was affected,” said Hope Paulk, Communications Mgr., Marketing Specialist, Irwin EMC.

The situation has thankfully improved since Friday, as crews have nearly half the county back up and running.

Shayla Johnson is volunteering at Irwin County’s EMC; she just got her power back Monday morning.

“I was really, you know, essentially first I’d heard anything from a week, two weeks. But, to be in three days, I’m extremely grateful for the work that they put in to get that done,” said Shayla Johnson, Ocilla resident.

Now she’s trying to help support the linemen as they continue.

“You know, the EMC as an ag teacher has always been so generous to every part of our community. Whether it’s sports, youth, anything that the youth are involved in. So, for me to have the opportunity, just do something small, you know, I’m going to contribute if I can,” said Johnson.

While they don’t have a timeline, the hundreds of linemen are doing everything they can to get the power back on as soon as possible.

“The last time I counted, we had 175 men out in the field and about 30 support staff that run materials to them. That includes crews from Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, and several of our sister co-ops in Georgia, plus all of our available men,” said Paulk.

Currently the number of outages sits just below six thousand still without power. But, Hope says these nearly 200 EMC workers want the power back on as much as anyone else.

Hope says that linemen are working up to 18 hours a day to restore the power in Irwin county.

Brian Roche reporting.

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