'Sad to leave': Line crews returning from Turks and Caicos

The hours have been long, the conditions difficult, and they miss their families, but Maritime Electric line crews restoring power to the Turks and Caicos Islands after two hurricanes have mixed feelings about coming home.

"A lot of them are sad to leave, when you see so much work that needs to get done," said Maritime Electric spokeswoman Kim Griffin.

The first crews, in partnership with Maritime Electric parent company Fortis, arrived in mid-September. There was a limited amount they could do in the first days following Hurricane Irma, because of a lack of heavy equipment, which had to be shipped to the Islands by barge.

Then, a week after they arrived, they had to fly to Miami to escape Hurricane Maria.

But they were soon back to work on the Islands again.

"The devastation and destruction was pretty significant. Just getting basic supplies to do work has been a challenge," said Griffin.

Heavy weather

The local people have been very welcoming to the crews, she said, even cooking them meals.

It was quite a physical adjustment. Kim Griffin

The crews, who regularly work through snow and ice storms on P.E.I., faced a very different kind of challenge in the Turks and Caicos: daily temperatures that climbed to 35 C with humidity of up to 90 per cent.

"Worrying about heat stroke, for example, and making sure they could get back into the trucks and putting on air [conditioning] and making sure they stayed hydrated," said Griffin.

"It was quite a physical adjustment for them in the first week."

The first crew returned to P.E.I. after three weeks and another crew was sent out. That second crew is leaving for home Tuesday.

Fortis says about 70 per cent of power has been restored, butit could be another month or two before power is restored to all the Islands.

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