On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm on the panhandle of Florida. Just two weeks later, while the state was still recovering, Hurricane Milton came ashore as a Category 3 near Siesta Key, and pummeled Central Florida with catastrophic rain, storm surge and 100 mph wind gusts. The system knocked out power to more than 3 million customers. As the storm progressed and the sun rose to reveal the true impact, Wesley Bernal, Associate Director on Atwell’s Power Distribution team, and Tyler Van Veghel, Design Lead Manager on Atwell’s Power Distribution team, were on their way to Daytona to help with the recovery efforts.
Working from sunup until sundown, Wesley and Tyler took on the role of project leads to disseminate lineman across the Daytona and Flagler communities to get neighborhoods back up and running. Organized by Florida Power and Light, Tyler and Wesley led teams made up of linemen from multiple companies. Despite the linemen coming from different organizations, they all had one united priority: getting people’s lives back to normal with power as soon as possible.
“It was clear from the moment we all started that the homeowners had a positive attitude and were grateful to see our trucks pull up,” explained Tyler. “We’d always extend our regrets for their situation, thank them for their patience, and let them know we were going to do everything we could to get them up and running as soon as possible.’”
Despite having his hands full with leading nine crews and ensuring that all tickets were delivered, Tyler’s determination for helping the community never wavered, and his team mirrored his sentiments. “No matter what time of day or how little sleep we all got, we all wanted to get as much work done as we could and bring a semblance of normalcy back to the area,” he affirmed.
Both Wesley and Tyler emphasized the professionalism and safety exemplified by everyone involved. “We were able to get so much done because everyone was willing to work together, work safely, and help out wherever they could,” said Tyler. “I’ve assisted on multiple hurricane recovery efforts, but this experience was particularly impactful because of the impressive and dedicated linemen I was able to work with over the course of just a few days.”
Wesley described his time in Daytona as something akin to an adrenaline rush. “We were called in, hopped on a plane, worked seemingly around the clock, did as much as we could to get people back in power, then hopped on a plane right back out,” he said. “It’s a fast-paced and sometimes surreal experience, but the chance to go down and support recovery is always an immediate ‘yes’ for me. No one minds working 16 hours straight and doing the same thing repeatedly when we can see the reality of the desperation around us. People had been without power for four or more days, so being able to make such an obvious impact and provide relief is always worth it.”
Fortunately, for the communities Wesley and Tyler were serving, the worst damage they witnessed were downed trees and vegetation in disarray. Their efforts and the work of everyone involved have brought a small but significant amount of relief to the area. We are proud of the initiative and commitment shown by Wesley, Tyler, and all the Atwell team members who went to Florida to help. We will continue to support affected communities however we can.
