Ameren crews return from Helene restoration, ready to help with Milton

FLORIDA – Efforts to restore power are underway in Florida following widespread damage from Hurricane Milton. East St. Louis native Chris Wieber now lives in Lakeland, Florida. She lost power as she hunkered down inside her home Wednesday night.

“The doors were rattling; the windows were creaking, “ Wieber said. “You could just hear all these sounds, and the wind was horrible.”

She said evacuating is not as easy as it sounds.

“It’s not like being in the Midwest where you can get out of it in any direction,” she said. “The main route to escape Hurricane Milton was Interstate 75 and (the road) was backed up for hours.”

She had flashlights ready and frozen water bottles to have cold water in the event of a power outage as the storm passed through Florida.

“It’s a waiting game and it’s exhausting,” she said.

On Thursday, Ameren crews from Missouri and Illinois were standing by, prepared to travel to Florida if necessary. Ameren crews involved with restoring power following Hurricane Helene returned home Tuesday.

“It’s a big morale booster anytime that you have a large-scale outage and you’re able to see utilities from other states come to the rescue and help you restore that power,” Brian Bretsch, Ameren Illinois spokesman, said.

He said the effort to restore power following Hurricane Helene included the use of a helicopter to deliver power poles to mountainous areas too treacherous for traditional vehicles.

“The helicopter came in and flew in with the poll, hanging from the helicopter. We set polls that way, and it was literally on the side of a portion of the Appalachian Mountains,” Bretsch added.

He said some of the company’s contractors are in Florida assisting with power restoration efforts following Hurricane Milton.

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