By By ANNA M. LEE Managing Editor
The Brewton area escaped all but minor effects from Hurricane Francis, but parts of Florida are coping with major damage from the storm, on top of Hurricane Charley's wreckage a few weeks ago. Locally, the regional division of Alabama Power sent crews to Florida to help get things back in working order, and Southern Pine Electric Cooperative is prepared to help out if called on.
Danny D'Andrea with Alabama Power in Brewton said that 87 workers left Mobile on Tuesday morning, Sept. 7, headed for Florida. Those workers were all from the Mobile Division of Alabama Power, which includes Brewton.
Though Southern Pine has not yet been called to send workers since Francis hit Florida, the cooperative did send crews two weeks ago to help with damage from Charley.
Harrison said that Southern Pine's statewide organization in Montgomery is in direct contact with Florida's electric cooperative system, and crews from other parts of Alabama have already been sent to Florida. The local cooperative is on stand-by and is prepared for that call if needed within the next few days, Harrison said.
Now a big concern both locally and in Florida is the approach of Hurricane Ivan.
Predicted to enter the Gulf of Mexico this weekend, Ivan is already producing sustained winds of 120 miles per hour and gusts of 150 miles per hour, ranking it as a category 3 storm as of press time.