1,000 Out-Of-State Linemen Arrive In NC To Combat Storm Outages

CHARLOTTE, NC — At least 1,000 linemen and support personnel were expected in Charlotte Friday as Hurricane Florence continued to rage along the coast, knocking out power lines as it advanced.

More than 597,000 people in the state lost power by 2 p.m. Friday, according to poweroutage.us. That includes more than 372,000 Duke Energy customers in the state.

In coastal New Hanover County alone, more than 114,000 Duke customers were without power along with more than 24,000 in Carteret County. Duke previously said it expected millions of residents and businesses to be in the dark for weeks.

SEE ALSO: Duke Energy: Florence Will Leave Millions Without Power For Weeks

The utility crews from Florida, Texas, New Orleans and Arkansas arrived at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, joining crews from 26 other locations across the U.S. and Canada to help with restoring power throughout North Carolina, Duke Energy said Friday.

“After the storm passes and it is safe for our crews to begin assessing damage and restoring power, a portion of these resources will focus on the central Carolinas region and others will depart to hardest hit areas,” a Duke company statement said.

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