Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative (CVEC) Crews Assist Georgia's Recover From Hurricane
Imagine working 16-hour days cutting and removing tree debris, repairing utility poles, and hanging new power lines.
Understandably exhausted, you return to a campsite to sleep. Instead of a bed or tent, your resting space is a hammock. You’re exposed to the southern Georgia humidity, wildlife, and insects.
Such was life for several of the 13 Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative linemen and right-of-way workers who helped Slash Pine Electric Membership Corporation recover from Hurricane Helene in late September and early October.
As unorthodox as the situation was — a first for 22-year CVEC veteran Matt Walker — the arrangements actually proved comfortable.
“That hammock life was nice,” he says. “Got a little mosquito net you slide over your hammock to keep the bugs off of you. You get a little cold on some nights, but it was alright.”
While some slept in hammocks like Walker, others found spots with a little more protection, like tents or the cabs of trucks. The varied sleeping arrangements testified to the rural nature of Slash Pine’s territory and the widespread nature of the devastation the cooperative’s members suffered.
Hurricane Helene hit the Big Bend area of Florida on September 26 as a Category 4 storm. By the time it cut through southeastern Georgia, Helene still had a well-defined eye — its powerful winds snapping approximately 2,000 poles in Slash Pine’s territory.
Furthermore, Slash Pine’s territory includes areas around the Okefenokee Swamp. The nearest city with hotels was Waycross, about 40 miles from where Slash Pine established a lineworker camp.
“Very rural. No towns,” Walker says.
The damage throughout Georgia was also so widespread and fierce that CVEC crews actually began hurricane relief six hours away in Amicalola EMC’s territory north of Atlanta. After serving 2 days in the Georgia mountains, the crew members headed to Slash Pine’s territory.
“We took our time getting there because they told us our camp wasn’t set up. When we got there, the camp still wasn’t set up,” Walker says. “That storm hit Thursday. This Helping with Helene CVEC Crews Assist Georgia's Recover from Hurricane By Jeremy Wise Marketing manager was Sunday. I imagine it’s a lot of work setting up camp.”
Because pole replacement projects take a few hours to complete, about 300 men camped in Slash Pine’s territory, CVEC lineman Jesse Stanley says. That created congested settings for the most ordinary tasks.
“You had to wait in line to eat, wait in line to get a shower, wait in line to use the bathroom,” Walker says. “Everything was a line.”
“It’s probably the closest thing to going to jail without being in jail,” adds Blake Elliott, another CVEC lineman.
Despite those challenges, CVEC’s crews embraced the various challenges of restoring power for a fellow cooperative.
For much of the time, CVEC crews worked away from swampy areas — though Helene soaked the area with several deluges.
“To be in that area, in South Georgia, after a hurricane and not have to use track equipment or climb poles very often, you’ve got it made,” says Stanley, who responded to the same area in 2023 following Hurricane Idalia.
A skid steer and its assorted attachments aided much of CVEC’s work in Slash Pine’s territory. It reached a few areas where heavy line trucks couldn’t because of their weight and rain-soaked terrain.
The auger helped CVEC replace about a dozen poles and made right-of-way cleanup easier.
“With trees, usually you have to cut stuff in 2 or 3-foot sections to pick up by hand,” Walker says. “With the skid steer and grapple, you can pick up stuff that’s 15 or 20 feet long and set it out of the way. It was nice.”
Exactly 2 weeks after the crews left, they returned home on October 11. While the men enjoyed helping a fellow cooperative out, they welcomed the chance to come home.
“It’s a good feeling knowing you’re helping out,” Walker says. “We were just ready to get home and see our wives be back with the family. It was good to get back home, get in your own bed, and not have to wait in line to use the bathroom, eat or shower.”