Hurricane Irma Tests Irby Crews

by | Jan 26, 2018 | Stories, Irby News

As Irby Crews were wrapping up work in Texas following Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma made landfall as the first Category 5 hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. On September 10 Irma’s winds reached 185 mph in Cuba. It was the most intense Atlantic hurricane to strike the United States since Katrina in 2005.

Less than one month after Harvey, but after that same amount of time on the job restoring power, Irby crews packed their bags and headed for Florida rather than home.

“We had several crews working on a lot of different types of jobs before Hurricane Irma hit, but once we knew that she would hit Florida, they all sprang into action,” Brent Croft, General Superintendent said. “We had crews down in Southern Florida before the hurricane even made landfall so that they could be ready to work immediately after it passed over them.”

Well over 300 of Irby Linemen performed storm work this hurricane season. Many of which worked the two major storms, back to back. With more than 114,000 collectively under their tool belts, Irby crews in conjunction with other restorations crews from across the country including those from our Quanta sister companies restored power in the midst of two national disasters.

Hurricane Harvey and Irma caused mass destruction to numerous regions in and surrounding the U.S. Together. According to estimates from Moody’s Analytic, damage and lost productivity has the potential to cost between $150 billion and $200 billion.

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