When chunks of your electric cooperative system are sitting in a river at the base of a mountain, you know restoring power to members will be a demanding task.

That is the challenge some co-ops faced as repairs from Hurricane Helene’s damage stretched into their fourth day on Monday. But co-op officials across the Southeast said that thousands of lineworkers are tackling the challenge with the cooperative spirit.

At Blue Ridge Energy, based in Lenoir, North Carolina, an estimated 6,800 miles of the co-op’s 8,500 miles of line are damaged, and the number of broken poles grows as workers conduct aerial assessments flying over impassable roads.

“We do know there are parts of our system that will take weeks to repair or rebuild. In many cases, there is no road—not even dirt—where there once was one and our poles are down mountainsides or in the river in some cases,” said Renee Walker, director of public relations, who said more than 34,000 members were without power as of midday Monday.

“Many of our employees have also lost power, some lost barns or other structures in the flood,” she added. “Everyone, however, is working tirelessly and in good spirits—the cooperative spirit!”

Power outages in Florida stood at about 56,000 Monday, down from over 200,000 when Helene made landfall late Thursday. Georgia co-ops reported more than 220,000 remaining outages, with the totals in North Carolina and South Carolina at 123,000 and 176,000, respectively.

On a national scale, AccuWeather put total damage and economic loss from Helene at $145 billion to $160 billion, making it one of the costliest storms on record. The service attributed the growing tally to catastrophic flooding in the southern Appalachians and storm surge along coastal areas.

On a local level, Danny Nichols, president and CEO of Colquitt EMC in Moultrie, Georgia, said the scale of repair work is almost unimaginable, yet some 770 personnel are displaying determination in bringing electricity to about 45,000 members who were still without power Monday.

“If you can see these devastated areas, you will see some things that will stick with you forever. Most professionals who work in this business have said Helene is the most destructive storm they have experienced. In my 42 years of experience in this business, I can say Helene is without a doubt the most destructive storm,” Nichols said.

Forest City, North Carolina-based Rutherford EMC has restored power to more than 20,000 members but full restoration could take weeks, General Manager Dirk Burleson said, praising the resiliency of line crews.

“It’s hard to describe the extent of the damage to our system,” he said. “In many cases, it’s not just a repair effort, but a rebuild.” Lingering flood water, mudslides and collapsed roads have made some areas of the co-op’s systems inaccessible. In other areas, crews are pushing through trees, brush and debris to locate and begin working on damaged infrastructure.

“When crews get to where they need to be, they’re not just met with a limb on a line—they’re met with entire trees that have pulled down spans of line and snapped poles that need to be rebuilt,” Burleson said.

The dangerous nature of the job was illustrated at Broad River Electric Cooperative, Cowpens, South Carolina, where a tree fell on the driver’s side of a company truck, crushing the hood and cracking the windshield.

“Luckily, no one was hurt, but the truck is a total loss. We’re praying for safety for all of the lineworkers involved in getting the lights back on in South Carolina,” the co-op said.

In Florida, in-state crews were being deployed to help co-ops with large restoration challenges. Lineworkers from Tavernier-based Florida Keys Electric Cooperative headed north to support Clay Electric Cooperative, which had about 16,000 members in the dark as of midday Monday. Quincy-based Talquin Electric Cooperative also wrapped up repairs and sent teams to Clay Electric and Tri-County Electric Cooperative in Madison.

Live Oak-based Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative said power was back on for about 59% of its members, thanks to the efforts of nearly 1,500 workers, contractors and mutual aid personnel. 

“I couldn’t be prouder of the work our employees are doing,” said SVEC CEO Mike McWaters. “The results we are seeing are a testament to their commitment to their neighbors here in the community. “Everyone here at the cooperative is also very grateful for the assistance we are receiving from our industry colleagues.”

The Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) has set up a dedicated page for donations to raise funds for disaster relief to electric cooperatives and co-op employees directly affected by Hurricane Helene. 

Steven Johnson is a contributing writer for NRECA.