When Hurricane Helene slammed into the southern coast, it didn’t just knock down trees and flood roads—it plunged thousands of Americans into darkness. In the aftermath of the storm’s fury, power outages swept through communities. Families and businesses were left stranded without electricity.
In late September, the call for mutual aid rang out across the country and Minnesota electric cooperatives answered. Among them was Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative (TWEC). On October 3, 2024, Crew Chief Jon Grenier and Journeyman Lineworker David Snyder fueled up a bucket truck and hit the road. Their destination? Laurens Electric Cooperative, Inc. in Upstate South Carolina. The co-op was in desperate need of help following the storm.
Todd-Wadena’s team wasn’t alone; two crews from Runestone Electric Association (REA) out of Alexandria, MN also answered the call for assistance. They joined up with other lineworkers to form a convoy of courage, heading straight into the heart of the disaster zone. “It was a ton of driving,” Snyder recalls of the trip. “But then you see it—a convoy of 30 to 40 utility trucks, all headed in the same direction. We all had one goal in mind: restoring power and hope to communities in need. Falling in line with that was something special.”
The crews arrived in South Carolina to find a scene of widespread destruction. Thankfully, Laurens Electric Cooperative had over 350 lineworkers stationed to help. “The co-op was hit hard with tree damage,” Snyder explains. “They don’t normally see storms like Helene. The scale of the damage was massive.”
Without missing a beat, the Minnesota crews got to work trimming tree limbs, clearing debris, re-stringing wires, and replacing broken poles.
But the work was far from over. As Laurens Electric reached nearly 100% restoration, TWEC received another call. Hurricane Milton had just ripped through Florida, and Peace River Electric Cooperative needed reinforcements. Grenier, Snyder, and the REA crews packed up and headed south once again—this time, toward even greater devastation.
When they arrived in Florida, they joined a force of 800 to 1,000 lineworkers, all working tirelessly to restore power. “You could tell they had been through storms before. They were prepared, with bunkhouses and catered meals for all the workers,” Snyder notes. But that didn’t make the task any easier.
One of the biggest challenges? Navigating unfamiliar systems and service territories. “We didn’t know their infrastructure,” says Snyder. “We were assigned a co-op employee to give us work orders with details and maps of the areas we needed to restore.”
Despite the grueling hours and relentless conditions, the crews pressed on, day after day, slowly chipping away at the power outages. “It took over a week to get everyone’s lights back on,” Snyder recalls, but the camaraderie and sense of purpose kept them going.
And the gratitude from the communities they served? Unforgettable. “Everybody was so gracious and thankful we were there,” says Crew Chief Jon Grenier.
On October 17th, TWEC’s crew finally returned home. Exhausted but proud, they carried with them not just the experience of hard work and long days, but the knowledge that they made a difference in the lives of so many.
When disaster strikes again, they will be ready because that’s what lineworkers do—they restore power, rebuild hope, and keep the light burning for us all.
