TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A third City of Tallahassee crew is en route to the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist with power restoration efforts.
They will relieve Tallahassee's second crew, which deployed earlier this month and expects to return home on Christmas Day.
" ... When my family and I discussed me going and missing Christmas, we decided that if it could make some of those people’s holiday a little bit brighter, then that’s a gift we needed to give," City of Tallahassee Electric Line Crew Foreman Paul Bailey said.
The crews are working as part of a mutual aid agreement coordinated under the Florida Municipal Electric Association.
The electric grid on many of the U.S. Virgin Islands was decimated. City crews have been working on St. Croix, which had one of the highest percentages of customers without power.
While deployed, the crews are working 14-hour days, seven days a week.
"Crews from public power communities across the state, including Tallahassee, continue to lend a helping hand to our fellow Americans in the U.S. Virgin Islands, particularly St. Croix, as they work to get power restored following a particularly violent hurricane season," said Amy Zubaly, executive director of the Florida Municipal Electric Association.
Approximately 40 percent of the customers on St. Croix remain without power.
MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL Weather Now app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional local news and hourly updates.
