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Two linemen from Windsor-based Community Electric Cooperative are working more than 240 miles from their hometown to restore power at Virginia’s western border counties, which were among the state’s hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.

Community Electric dispatched linemen Daniel Hobson and Rob Darden, both Windsor natives, on Sept. 30 to Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative, which serves six Virginia counties and one in West Virginia at the state line.

“”We are incredibly proud of our dedicated crew members who have been deployed to assist CBEC in restoring power to their community, and who will soon be traveling to North Carolina to aid in recovery efforts following the damage caused by Helene,” said Community Electric spokeswoman Jessica Parr. “Their willingness to help during these challenging times exemplifies the true spirit of cooperation that our cooperative stands for.”

It’s not the first time Community Electric personnel, or Hobson personally, has lended assistance to a co-op serving a hurricane-ravaged area. In 2020, Hobson found himself dispatched 900 miles away to Baldwin County, Alabama, during the aftermath of Hurricane Sally.

“At Community Electric Cooperative, one of our guiding principles is ‘cooperation amongst cooperatives,’” Parr said. “This means that when one of us faces challenges, we come together as a community to provide support and share resources. This sense of unity ensures that we can respond quickly and effectively, whether it’s for our own members or others in need. Our crews are ready and willing to work alongside other cooperatives, and we’re confident in their ability to help restore services and bring relief to those affected. This is what it means to be part of a cooperative family — helping our neighbors, no matter the distance.”

“Helene was, and still is, causing havoc on our distribution system,” said Craig-Botetourt spokeswoman Maiya Ashby.

Ashby said there were over 4,600 people without power on Sept. 27 when Helene cut a multi-state swath of destruction across the Appalachian Mountains after making landfall over the Florida panhandle a day earlier as a Category 4 storm with wind speeds up to 140 mph. As of Oct. 1, 386 people across Craig-Botetourt’s service area remained in the dark.

Thanks to assistance by crews from Community Electric, Prince George Electric, Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, or NOVEC, Kentucky-based Davis H. Elliott Inc. and Campbell County-based right-of-way clearing contractor Hurst Landworks “we’re making progress,” Ashby said, but “it’s a slow uphill battle.”

The on-loan lineworkers’ days typically begin around 6 a.m. and end around 9:30 p.m., Ashby said.

“They’re right back at it the next day,” she said.

Repairs have been complicated by much of Craig-Botetourt’s service area being located inside the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest.

“It’s not something you can generally just roll up to in a bucket truck,” Ashby said.

When bucket trucks can’t reach an affected area, it’s up to the crews to find outages on foot and physically carry the needed equipment and parts to repair more than 20 broken power poles Craig-Botetourt has identified across its 1,300-mile coverage area.

“One of our greatest challenges is navigating our mountainous terrain, which is primarily occupied by national forest(s), the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the Appalachian Trail,” Ashby said. “In many instances, our lineworkers must locate the causes of outages on foot and carry the necessary equipment. As you can imagine, adhering to safety protocols in this environment is crucial. Proper footwear, personal protective equipment (PPE), and careful attention to the chosen path to avoid slips, trips, falls, and snakes are all essential for ensuring the safety of our crew members.”

While Helene had been downgraded to a post-tropical depression and had moved over the Kentucky-Tennessee line by Sept. 29, the Craig-Botetourt service area has continued to experience daily rain since Sept. 28, with the ground saturation resulting in new downed trees, Ashby said.