Davey Tree Flipbooks

10 THE DAVEY BULLETIN | May/June 2023 MISSION HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES RESPOND TO WINTER STORMS Left: Crews from the Butler Rural Electric Cooperative account supported the National Grid account in Massachusetts and New York. Right: Davey crews from the NIPSCO account supported National Grid in New York during Winter Storm Olive. on the incoming storm in Brockport, New York for four days. The conditions on the way were icy and rainy, but once the crews arrived in Brockport, the real storm hit later that evening. "It put an inch and-a-half of ice on everything – every tree, every line. It was pretty catastrophic. Ice is different from wind and other storm conditions for us because it makes the wood act a little different than it does with just wet conditions. The ice makes it hard for us to get ropes in good spots because the ropes slip. To secure them, we need to find a good limb or tree crotch," Collins said. WINTER STORM SAGE Seventy Davey crews, totaling 183 employees, from Consumers Energy, Holmes-Wayne Electric, Mountain Electric, Newport Utilities Board, and Rutherford Electric accounts, along with crews from many of the accounts who responded to Olive, traveled to Massachusetts to support four Davey crews on the National Grid account. Nine local Davey crews on the Green Mountain Power account worked on storm recovery in Vermont, eight local Davey crews on the PSE&G account worked on storm recovery in New Jersey, and nine local Davey crews on the Rhode Island Energy account responded in Rhode Island. Terry Malone, general foreman, Butler Rural Electric account, led 12 crews. They traveled from Cincinnati, Ohio to support National Grid for 5 days in Lee, Massachusetts. "A foot of snow and blizzard conditions, including rain, sleet, and snow, made the work difficult. The snowplows couldn't keep up on the back roads. We handled 40 tickets in one day, putting in long hours throughout the week. It was a remote area without a cell phone signal, so I was given a physical map rather than a digital one to check on the crews. Though conditions were tough, the communication between the crews was top notch, and everything went as smoothly as possible," Malone said. Winter Storm Olive swept across the U.S., from the Northwest to New England, bringing heavy snow and strong winds in late February. In mid-March, Winter Storm Sage hit the Northeast and New England with a nor'easter. Davey client National Grid requested outside line clearance crews for assistance ahead of both incoming storms, anticipating needing help. "When the request comes in, the clock starts ticking. We are getting faster at getting ahead of the calls for assistance and have crews available ahead of these types of storms, rather than waiting for the request. With Winter Storm Sage, we had 50 crews committed within 10 minutes of the initial request," said Matt Roddy, regional business manager, Atlantic region, Eastern Utility services. WINTER STORM OLIVE Ninety-eight Davey crews, totaling 273 employees, from the Butler Rural Electric Cooperative, Central Electric Cooperative, City of Cuyahoga Falls, Clinton Utilities Board, Cumberland, DTE Energy, FirstEnergy, Hart EMC, Jones-Onslow, and NIPSCO accounts, went to New York and Massachusetts to support four Davey crews on the National Grid account. Nine local Davey crews on the Rhode Island Energy account worked on storm recovery in Rhode Island. Jerry Collins, general foreman, NIPSCO account, led six crews. They traveled from Michigan City, Indiana to work Ice and snow caused tree limbs to become heavy, falling on lines.

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