GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster provided an update on the state’s response to Hurricane Helen on Sunday afternoon.
McMaster spoke at a press conference at the Greenville Downtown Airport, along with SCDOT Secretary Justin Powell, SLED Director Mark Keel, and Duke Energy officials.
“I want everyone to be careful,” McMaster said. “We don’t need another tragedy.”
McMaster said Hurricane Helen’s impact on the northern states was one of the most devastating disasters ever to occur.
“In this particular case, we’ve never seen anything like this in the upstate, if not before,” McMaster said.
Helen has caused 25 deaths in South Carolina, McMaster said.
Six people died in Spartanburg County, five people died in Greenville County, four people died in Anderson County, four people died in Aiken County, three people died in Saluda County, two people died in Newberry County and one person died in Chesterfield County.
“Some are here (to help) and some are coming,” McMaster said. “We have the team, we have the equipment, and the federal government is helping us. The National Guard will supplement the work that state law enforcement is doing. It’s just going to take time.”
SCDOT crews are cleaning roads, including highways. They said they are slowly but surely working to restore power.
Mike Callahan, Duke Energy’s South Carolina president, said Sunday that the damage to the state’s infrastructure is “unprecedented.”
Duke Energy said it expects power to be restored to the majority of customers by Friday evening, except in areas where access or service is unavailable.
“That doesn’t mean we’re going to be without power until Friday,” Callahan explained. “That means the last customers who can be restored by Friday may be out, but many more will be online well before then.”
Duke Energy said nearly 6,000 line workers and support personnel were on the scene and more were arriving to assist with recovery efforts.
Lawrence Electric announced Sunday night that power had been restored to 21,219 of its members.
There were 300 line workers on site as of Sunday afternoon, with more expected to be brought in from other states.
Blue Ridge Electric said in an update posted online Sunday that more than 328 power poles in the system are damaged and it will take crews three to four hours to replace each pole. said.
“I can assure you that there is a great sense of urgency at Blue Ridge Electric, and that sense of urgency will continue until the last member remains,” said Zach Hinton, Blue Ridge Electric’s chief of staff and senior vice president. I guess so.” It’s cooperative.
McMaster also denied rumors that South Carolina power staff were sent to Florida before the storm.
“I don’t know how it started, but no, there’s no truth to that,” McMaster said, reiterating the need to get information from official sources to avoid “misunderstandings.”
“We will not tolerate any illegal activity in our communities,” said South Carolina Law Enforcement Director Mark Keel.
Keel also said SLED will remain upstate until everything returns to normal.
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