A dozen linemen from Springfield’s City Water, Light and Power repaired electricity lines Thursday in the hurricane-damaged town of Lake Worth, Florida, about 60 miles north of Miami.
The crews arrived Tuesday to assist in restoring power to tens of thousands of residents after Hurricane Irma swept through the city.
“We kind of have to help each other out because you can’t staff enough workers for a storm like this,” said Bill Mathews, a CWLP supervisor. “Maybe we have an ice storm some time and they come up here and give us a hand.”
Mathews said the goal is to get electricity restored to 90 percent of homes and businesses. They could be in Florida until early next week, he added.
CWLP as well as municipal utilities in Rochelle, Highland and Princeton, Illinois, sent crews as part of a mutual aid agreement through the American Public Power Association to help communities that have experienced natural disasters.
Springfield benefited from the agreement in 2006 when tornadoes knocked out power for days.
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