Danvers Electric Workers Aid Hurricane Ian Relief In Florida

DANVERS, MA — Two line workers from Danvers Electric were off to storm-ravaged areas of Florida this week to help restore power infrastructure lost in the devastation of Hurricane Ian.

Noah Bradley and Steve Hennessy were among 50 line workers from plants in Wakefield, Danvers, Peabody and others in the Northeast Public Power Association to aid municipal light plants in Florida in the aftermath of the historic storm.

The Massachusetts line workers left on Tuesday morning at about 5 a.m. for Jacksonville where they were to begin restoration efforts.

One death was confirmed from the havoc now-Tropical Storm Ian brought to west-central Florida, but Gov. Ron DeSantis worries there are hundreds of fatalities from Lee County, where many residents didn't evacuate and were trapped by storm surge.

As of Thursday morning, there were an estimated 2.6 million Florida residents without power.

Stay up-to-date by viewing all Hurricane Ian coverage on Patch here.

President Joe Biden was briefed by Federal Emergency Management Administration officials Thursday morning, and signed federal disaster requests submitted by DeSantis.

"We know many families are hurting. … and our entire country is hurting with them," Biden said.

If people want to donate to cleanup efforts, they can go to the Florida Disaster Fund: www.FloridaDisaster.org. And those who want to volunteer to help with storm cleanup can sign up at www.volunteerFlorida.org.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)