Santa Rosa, Ukiah PG&E crews to help repair Hurricane Irma damage in Florida

Local PG&E crews packed up their gear this morning as they prepare to head to Florida in advance of Hurricane Irma's arrival.

Joe Turnes and his three crew members rolled out of the PG&E Santa Rosa substation around 11 a.m. They're meeting up with other crews from around the state in Davis before heading out today to Florida, where they'll help restore power once the Category 5 hurricane makes landfall.

Two Ukiah crews also departed this morning.

Irma, the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic, is expected to hit Florida on Sunday morning, bringing with it destructive winds of up to 185 mph. The storm plowed through Barbuda before reaching Puerto Rico early Thursday.

“It makes you wonder why we're going in the opposite direction,” said Turnes, the crew's subforeman, referring to the thousands of people evacuating the area of Florida targeted by the storm. “But that's what we do.”

The utility company is sending a total of 100 linemen, equipment operators, supervisors and support personnel as part of a 2014 mutual aid agreement with Florida Power & Light, PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said.

Under the agreement, the Florida utility will cover the cost to send in those workers.

Turnes, 39, of Windsor, didn't know what part of the state he and his crew members - Rob Berry, Jason Schilling and Nick Janssen - would be sent to; however, they were eager to help with the storm recovery.

“You get a sense of pride when you go out and represent your company,” said Janssen, 34, of Windsor. “It's something you'll always remember.”

It's not the first time he volunteered to assist after a natural disaster. Janssen said he was among the PG&E workers who responded in the aftermath of Lake County's Valley Fire in 2015.

Berry, 50, said he previously assisted in recovery efforts in Florida after Hurricane Jeanne struck in 2004. Berry, who works in Sonoma County but lives in Redding, was stationed in West Palm Beach but had to travel two hours by bus to get to the staging area, where crews then were deployed to the damaged areas.

“People need the power. If we can get them back to normalcy, that's what our job is,” said Schilling, 30, of Santa Rosa.

Their efforts don't come without sacrifice. Turnes and his wife have two children, 12 and 7, and are expecting twins in December.

Schilling has a 9-month-old son. He and the crew expect to be in Florida for at least two weeks.

“It's going to be hard leaving the wife and kid,” Schilling said.

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 707-521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.