Iowa workers making progress in Gulf storm recovery

A spokesman for the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives says workers from the state who’re helping restore power to an area on the Gulf Coast are making good progress. I-A-E-C director Carroll Baker of Clearfield says some 35 Iowans are working in the Bay St. Louis area, which sits right on the Gulf of Mexico. He says of the 60-thousand plus people who had their power knocked out, they’re now down to 20-thousand. Baker says the original plan was to have the Iowa workers stay for 10 to 14 days, and then they’d be relieved by a new shift. He says the equipment would remain in the Gulf and new people would come in to run the equipment. But he says the latest report they got was they’re getting along so well that there may not be a need for replacement workers. Baker says the damage is mostly from lines and poles torn down by blowing trees. He says the Iowans are working eight to 14 hour shifts. He says they’re doing whatever needs to be done. He says if an area needs to be cleared, they clear it and they took equipment to set poles and string line. Baker says the Iowans are staying in a warehouse on army cots with the national guard providing security for the area and their equipment. He says it’s a swampy area and some people have reported seeing snakes. He says, “It’s no doubt an interesting place.” Baker says 14 Iowa co-ops are part of the group that’s working in the Gulf. He says they keep track of all the expenses to go down there and the co-op there will be billed. Baker says it’s very expensive to get the power back on. He says he can’t even guess at what the total cost will be.