A Peterborough man is heading south to lend a hand to hurricane-ravaged south Florida.
Shawn Barnett, a hydro worker with privately owned Whitby-based Durham High Voltage, is helping restore electricity in the sunshine state in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
He and 25 other colleagues hit the road earlier in the week with their hydro vehicles.
“Been on the road for a few days now. only getting a couple of hours sleep here and there,” Barnett said. “A couple of nights we had to sleep in our truck.”
Making the task more difficult is leaving behind his wife, Samantha, and their six-month-old girl.
“I just said if it’s not safe don’t do it,” said Samantha Barnett. “Some of the photos my husband sent me — there were trees lying down and different things they had to go around on the interstate. I mean that’s not usual, that’s for sure.”
Six million Floridians have been left without power and Barnett says the task of reconnecting power is daunting, but also very gratifying.
“In North Carolina we got a lot of people coming up to us and shaking our hands, saying thank you for coming down and helping us out,” he said. “Seems like we’re getting a lot of respect down here, which is nice.”
Barnett says Florida is the worst repair project he’s faced. But he dealt with major two-week repair work last winter in Rochester, N.Y.
“That was worse, I think because we just had the baby and he had to go down there for that,” said Samantha.
The work in Florida is expected to last a couple of months.
“We’re very proud of him and I’m happy to know he’s helping those who are in need right now,” said Samantha.
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