Spring 2011 may go down as the year storms reached biblical proportions. From upstate New York, south to Florida and across the Midwest, the weather exploded in a fury of tornadoes, flooding and microbursts.

When residents are left to pick up the pieces, line crews are right there with them, repairing damage and, in many cases, building new lines. Several linemen from a variety of utilities shared their experiences.

Danny Haithcock, Progress Energy

Danny Haithcock's crew was dispatched to Alabama soon after a massive tornado ripped through the state.

“A guy from Alabama Power told us when we arrived that we were going to see something we had never seen before, and he was right,” Haithcock said. “We have worked hurricanes throughout the years, but this tornado was the worst we had ever seen. The tornado was so strong that whatever stood in its path didn't stand a chance. Homes were entirely gone and belongings weren't salvageable.”

Despite the fact that an Alabama Power lineman accompanied the Progress Energy crew, they had a hard time rebuilding because of the devastation.

“When you are in another utility's service territory, rebuilding the lines is like putting together pieces of a puzzle,” Haithcock said. “What was sad was that there weren't a lot of transformers to put up because people's houses were gone. We were just bridging the gap between the areas that weren't hit.”

The crew worked in the tiny town of Hackleburg, Alabama, where the downtown was devastated by the storm.

“A man I spoke with there said the town was just barely hanging on economically before the storm,” Haithcock said. “Now there is nothing there for them in terms of business or industry. You see people after this devastation and you know what they are up against. Not only did these people lose their property and everything they worked for, but many lost family members, too. It's hard to look them in the eyes.”

One resident Haithcock spoke with said his family survived by clustering in an interior room of the house. The racket in their backyard sounded like two freight trains colliding.

Caleb Jones, Kansas City Power & Light

After a tornado spun through the St. Louis, Missouri, area, Caleb Jones and his Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) crew were dispatched to help Ameren rebuild its lines.

“We knew it was the hardest-hit area because the news crews were all there reporting,” Jones said. “There were a lot of news helicopters flying overhead.”

As the crew prepared to head home afterward, they watched TV from their hotel rooms as another tornado ripped through Arkansas. So they headed south to help Entergy crews. The drive there was memorable.

“We were headed from St. Louis to Little Rock in a convoy of 80 trucks,” Jones said. “As you can imagine, even stopping for a restroom break with that many crews is a big production. As we were driving, a wave of storms passed over. There was large hail, and the tornado sirens were going off. We were in a very remote area, and I didn't have a clue where we were. We couldn't even get cell phone coverage, and I didn't know how close the tornado was. We waited out the storm in our trucks, but it was a pretty dangerous situation.”

The crews worked in Arkansas in nearly constant rain. “It was miserable,” Jones said. “It was so nasty that the swamp digger almost got stuck.”

Jones noted that when they first arrived in Arkansas, they were working alongside crews from numerous utilities. Then the tornadoes hit Alabama, and many of those crews left Arkansas to lend a hand.

Prior to joining KCP&L five years ago, Jones worked for a rural electric association (REA) where storm repairs were different than at an investor-owned utility (IOU).

“When I was sent out of town to help another REA, the materials and standards were always the same as with my REA. This makes repairs fairly straightforward,” Jones explained. “IOUs and municipals have their own construction standards and tend to serve more condensed areas. Linemen for IOUs are really good about adapting to new standards and surroundings.”

Jones said the majority of KCP&L linemen like to go out of town for storm work. “Following a storm in your own area, there are weeks of cleanup after the power restoration. When we are assisting another utility, we work for just a week or two, and we don't have time to pick up our scrap wire or broken poles. The local crews have to pick up all the scrap and replace all the temporaries that were put in place to restore power. It's just like it is at home; no one likes to clean up their messes.”

Mike Hooten and Omar Clemons, Entergy

Rain and the lack of rain have kept linemen busy in Arkansas. Last year's drought meant that many large trees died but were left standing. Then spring tornadoes brought the trees down, along with countless power lines. Next, nonstop rains brought harsh flooding to the area in April.

“Several linemen leased their personal boats to the company so we could use them to get to the power lines,” said Mike Hooten. “We tried to follow the roads to get to the lines and pull them down. Many were just 3 feet above the water. So many people were motoring around in their boats, trying to get their belongings out of their homes. We were afraid someone might drift into a line, so we killed the power on the lines. We expect to lose a lot of poles to floating debris.”

Hooten said this year's flooding was much worse than the flooding of 2008. Crews often had to go miles out of the way to find roads that were still passable.

“I almost had to spend the night at a substation, because I couldn't get home with the flooded roads,” Hooten said. “In the town of Des Arc, Arkansas, the serviceman lived on what was almost an island for a time. There were not many roads open to his home.”

Hooten's crew is located in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, which can be treacherous with the rain. “Our service territory also includes the delta farmland, which is easier to work in, but you do get stuck in the mud and gumbo often. The bulldozers were towing a lot of trucks out of the mud.”

He acknowledged that his crew was not getting a lot of rest because of the continual storms. “We worked 16-hour days, but then we went home and watched the TV to make sure the storms weren't going to hit our homes.”

Omar Clemons said the constant barrage of storms in his area was getting a bit tedious.

“We would have power out one night, would restore the power and then, the next night, the same line would be down again,” Clemons said. “The storms have been back to back. We were working in Conway, Arkansas, and then we had to return to Russell to do repairs in our own town. It's just what we do.”

He said getting material to the crews to make repairs was a challenge for the utility because of the downed trees and impassable roads. When his crew traveled to an unfamiliar area to make repairs, a local lineman would get the needed materials for them because he knew all the back roads.

“April was a very difficult month because of almost constant darkness,” Clemons said. “If it wasn't raining, it was cloudy. I don't think a group of linemen was ever so happy to see sunshine. It was a hard month, but we took care of each other so we could return everyone safely to their families.”

Ed Zadigan and Billy Kolar, National Grid

Ed Zadigan has never been through a tornado, but the 100-mph microburst winds on Long Island, New York, in April almost qualify as twisters. He is an emergency service specialist who is usually out in the field 15 minutes after a storm hits. The utility, however, knows within seconds where there is trouble on the system.

“We have smart switches on the primary side that tell us if something is wrong,” Zadigan explained. “The office can localize the problem, and open and close switches before I get out in the field. Then, as soon as I arrive on site, I can start making repairs.”

However, the destruction caused by this microburst meant repairs were a different story this year. The storm cut power to about 85,000 National Grid customers. Nearly 65,000 of those were in Nassau County. The most damaged area was on the North Shore, which is a unique neighborhood.

“These are huge mansions with three-phase transformer banks all for one house,” Billy Kolar said. “We have three-phase trunk lines on individual properties. I'm not talking about branch lines; I'm talking about trunk lines. When you lose trunk lines, you lose thousands of customers and you can't help the branch circuits. We couldn't even get down the roads because these mansions were surrounded by 100-foot trees and many of them came down.”

Zadigan said usually there is something creative he can do to get the power back on. “I've worked in this area for 25 years, and this was the first time that I couldn't do anything in the hardest-hit area,” he said. “We couldn't thread our way in at all because of the damage. We had to wait for Billy's crew to come in and rebuild the circuits.”

To compound the problem, the area is very hilly with narrow roads making it difficult for trucks to pass through. Kolar, whose crew rebuilds the lines, noted it was quite a challenge to have nearly 400 linemen from various utilities converging on the area.

Because the North Shore is a particularly affluent area, residents think nothing of purchasing a $3 million home and knocking it down to build a $15 million home, Zadigan commented. “These customers require a lot of attention,” he said. “I remember years ago when I went to upstate New York, customers would be without power for three or four days. They were so thankful and welcoming when we showed up. With this clientele, when they are without power for an hour, it might as well be forever.”

Even in this, the most dramatic of storm repairs, Kolar's and Zadigan's crews had a bit of good-natured rivalry. “My department and Billy's department are very competitive with each other,” Zadigan said. “We think we're the best at what we do, but they think they're the best.”

Joel Gray, Alabama Power

April 27 was a monumental day for residents in and around Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In a tornado season that may go down on record as one of the worst in decades, the Alabama tornado was perhaps the most devastating of the year, eclipsed only by the Joplin, Missouri, twister on May 22. One storm came through the Alabama Power service territory in the morning, knocking out power to more than 100,000 customers, and a second storm that day took out power to more than 400,000 customers.

“This was the worst storm I've seen in my 10 years with the company,” said Joel Gray. “It was probably worse than any hurricane we have experienced in our area.”

Neighborhoods and city blocks were destroyed. “It was pretty bad in east Alabama, but when we got to Tuscaloosa, it was just jaw-dropping,” Gray said. “Houses were entirely gone with only the foundations left.”

Though the devastation has been sobering, Gray said the community support has been encouraging. “The communities came together with neighbors helping neighbors, which is typical for the South,” Gray said. “When you see a neighbor in need here, you get out and help them. People came through with shelter and food for each other.

“Everything is gone in much of Tuscaloosa,” Gray said. “I'm on the transmission side, so I don't get into the distribution side, but just driving by, there is nothing there.”

Gray said the utility could not have recovered without the help of other utilities. Alabama Power crews had linemen from 19 other states working alongside them. “I know we get paid to do a job, but it is rewarding to know that you are part of an effort like this,” he said.