LITCHFIELD, Conn. — The Nor’easter that walloped Connecticut closed schools and businesses, but it was a snow day of a different kind for the men and women who work the line. The power line that is.
As of Wednesday evening, there are still scattered outages across the state. Many are in Northwest Connecticut. Eversource told FOX61 this storm knocked out power to about 36,000 customers and about 17,000 were in the dark during the peak Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s a normal day on the job really,” said Lineman Dirk Hale of Ohio. “Hang in there. We will be along,” he said. Fellow lineman Cody Hinkle added, “You will get power.”
When the lights go out, the linemen are the ones who get them back on. The Mallory Brook shopping plaza in Barkhamsted was humming with the idling of engines. It is a staging area for dozens of power crews from all over the country.
“We got crews from Virginia, people from Las Vegas. Our crew has people from everywhere,” remarked Miracle Bridges, a local lineman from New Haven.
FOX61 found them taking a much-deserved break as they waited for their next dispatch assignment in what’s been a whirlwind 24-hour power restoration event. They are running on coffee and still smiling.
“No sleep for us,” said Bridges. “We’re going to get the power back. We’ve been up all night and we’re still up.”
Dirk Hale told FOX61 when he got the call that he was needed in Connecticut he thought, “Let’s go!” It’s tough, often thankless work. His colleague Cody Hinkle says they’re a band of brothers.
“We have that code of being your brother's keeper. So whether on or off the clock, we are there for each other," said Hinkle.
They are dedicated to the mission of restoring your power as quickly and safely as possible.
“Safety before anything else. We want everyone to go home with all their digits and extremities and to their families,” explained Hale.
These linemen spend days away from their families, often on very little sleep, so remember to thank one when you see one. One lineman told FOX61 you can help yourself and help them by taking a look at the trees on your property and doing some preventative maintenance that can avoid an outage altogether.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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