THUNDER BAY — A team of Thunder Bay-based powerline workers bound for the Carolinas returned home without even crossing the U.S. border.
The six-member crew had set out Thursday morning in a convoy of Gridlink vehicles at the request of a power authority in the area which, at the time, was still bracing for the full impact of Hurricane Florence.
Spokesperson Geoff Miller says the team got to just outside Toronto before they were notified that they and a number of other Canadian line crews were no longer required.
Miller told Tbnewswatch the Gridlink crew members were disappointed they didn't get the chance to apply their skills to disaster relief on this occasion, but at the same time they were happy to learn the devastation wasn't so bad that their services were needed.
"We responded to the opportunity, and went down as quickly as we could to help...but the less people out of power, the less outages, the less destruction the better," he said.
Miller's company has sent crews to repair damaged electricity infrastructure resulting from previous weather events in the U.S.
