ST. LOUIS – Ameren workers from Illinois and Missouri left the St. Louis area Monday to help with efforts to restore power in areas devastated by Hurricane Helene.
“The hurricane has left a lot of damage in its wake,” Ben Lynch, director of Missouri operations for Ameren, said.
Ameren operations are limited to Illinois and Missouri, but the power company is part of a mutual assistance group.
“I appreciate all of our employees both in Illinois and Missouri and their families for what they’re doing,” Lynch added.
Approximately 125 Ameren personnel and 210 contractor personnel, including line workers, fleet, logistics and safety will assist crews from AEP Appalachian Power in West Virginia, according to Ameren.
Power outages washed out roads, and downed cell phone towers are just some of the challenges.
Missouri Task Force 1 has sent two separate teams to help with search and rescue operations in mountainous terrain where flooding has devastated communities. Both teams were in North Carolina on Monday.
“Some of these areas have been cut off since Saturday,” Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp, Boone County Fire Protection District and Missouri Task Force 1 public information officer, said. “Without our crews going out there, trying to find them, they may not have had contact with anybody.”
Mountain flooding often leaves behind greater devastation than on flatter ground, he noted.
“When that water falls up high, it comes down very fast and typically washes everything away versus just rising and falling,” Blomenkamp said.
He thanked the agencies that have allowed personnel to be part of the task force and family members who anxiously await their loved ones’ returns.
“I talked to the task force leader this morning, everybody’s doing well. They’re working together, and they’re proud to be helping the citizens in North Carolina,” he said.
