A seven-person San Marcos Electric Utility team left for East Texas on Sept. 26 to help the Hemphill, Texas, community recover from the ravages of Hurricane Rita.

Hemphill is in Sabine County near the Louisiana state line about 110 miles north of Beaumont. The community was in the direct path of Hurricane Rita when it struck the region.

“The request for help came Sunday morning through the Lower Colorado River Authority,” said Bob Higgs, director of the electric utility. “Hemphill City Manager Don Isles said most of their lines were down and power to about 600 customers was out.”

With the go-ahead from San Marcos City Manager Dan O’Leary, the electric utility crew assembled its equipment and supplies and headed out. Also responding to the Hemphill community were electric utility crews from Georgetown and New Braunfels.

The San Marcos crew included a foreman, two linemen, two apprentice linemen, a digger/boom truck operator and a helper. They took with them a bucket truck, a digger boom truck and two one-ton pickup trucks.

Kirbyville near Jasper also has requested help from San Marcos. “We are looking into what we may be able to do there,” Higgs said.

The San Marcos electric utility workers expected to be in Hemphill at least two days to help restore electric service.