Hurricane Ian: Work Vehicles Respond

As Hurricane Ian leaves parts of Florida devastated in its wake and continues to pummel the East Coast of the U.S., utilities, government agencies, trucking fleets, and other commercial entities are responding.

Twitter users have been providing an up-close perspective on how those entities are deploying work vehicles to protect people and property and take an active role in the cleanup.

Before the storm hit, utilities from states as far away as New York sent convoys to Florida to be ready to restore power as needed. Many tweets showed videos from the highway of trucks on the move.

Just saw a convoy of out of town utility trucks going down 75, presumably on their way to Florida in preparation for #HurricaneIan. ⛈ pic.twitter.com/vYlhIOaPNa

— BirdingPeepWx (@BirdingPeepWx) September 26, 2022

This Twitter user reported a traffic jam of trucks outside of Chattanooga, Tenn.

Saw thousands of Line Workers and utility trucks headed down to Tampa Bay as we evacuated the other way. Thanks (in advance) to all these folks. #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/hp2Q9cdUAa

— tgirl trying not to be sarcastic (@tranewman) September 27, 2022

This user saw at least 100 trucks on I-95 on Tuesday.

Saw thousands of Line Workers and utility trucks headed down to Tampa Bay as we evacuated the other way. Thanks (in advance) to all these folks. #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/hp2Q9cdUAa

— tgirl trying not to be sarcastic (@tranewman) September 27, 2022

At one point, power restoration efforts were suspended as conditions were too dangerous to work. The Kissimmee Utility suspended operations at 5:29 on Wednesday.

We have suspended power restoration efforts because storm winds are too strong for our crews to work safely in our bucket trucks. Power will remain off in the affected areas until the winds subside and crews can safely respond.Crews will still respond to emergencies.#HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/eKeJYZKiLk

— Kissimmee Utility (@KUAdirect) September 29, 2022

This user passed a series of tree trimming trucks on Tuesday headed to the Tampa area.

I passed several convoys of work trucks (bucket trucks, tree trimming trucks, etc.) headed north on I-75 towards Tampa presumably to start staging for the arrival of Hurricane Ian. #HiddenHeroes pic.twitter.com/p7BRAjjdtP

— Michael E. Webber (@MichaelEWebber) September 27, 2022

These ranchers were grateful for their Ram Truck that helped them tend to cattle before the storm.

I passed several convoys of work trucks (bucket trucks, tree trimming trucks, etc.) headed north on I-75 towards Tampa presumably to start staging for the arrival of Hurricane Ian. #HiddenHeroes pic.twitter.com/p7BRAjjdtP

— Michael E. Webber (@MichaelEWebber) September 27, 2022

In Punta Gorda on Florida’s western shore — one of the hardest hit areas — a semi-truck with trailer lays on its side, ostensibly blown over by Ian’s gale force winds.

Semi truck blown over by #HurricaneIan in Punta Gorda. That’s the eye of Ian above, no clear sky eye, just a calm overcast right now. And a guy casually walking his dog pic.twitter.com/ENTkdlR01v

— Mike Killian (@KillianPhoto) September 28, 2022

AT&T reported that it had hundreds of trucks and equipment ready to deploy.

The @ATT fleet consists of hundreds of network recovery support trailers and equipment, readied for rapid deployment. #HurricaneIan https://about.att.com/pages/disaster-recovery/network-recovery pic.twitter.com/DCW3WHqloV

— AT&T News (@ATTNEWS) September 28, 2022

This fleet of septic trucks is ready assist.

Our fleet is standing by for hurricane-related emergencies. If you are experiencing an emergency (overflow, spill, backups) please call us at 1-888-529-7436 to immediately speak to one of our emergency service representatives.#HurricaneIan #PlumbingEmergency pic.twitter.com/sURve6bMLf

— SepticExperts (@SepticTweets) September 28, 2022

Finally, fire fighters in Naples — and likely countless other first responder units — will have another massive job to clean up their own trucks and equipment.

Praying for all the first responders out there in Florida. This video is unbelievable. Fire trucks under water. 🙏 #Hurricane #IAN #FLOOD 🌀 #Category4 #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/raqdANRdsR

— GRG | Sentinel 🇺🇸 (@GRGSentinel) September 29, 2022