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Wilson This Week -- Sept. 30, 2024 |
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Wilson Energy restores power to communities devastated by Hurricane Helene
Wilson Energy crews are providing much needed reinforcement to local crews in Western North Carolina. Starting Friday afternoon, line crews left Wilson to help restore power to devastated communities. Fifteen linemen headed to Boone to support New River Light and Power. On Saturday afternoon, another six linemen left Wilson for Drexel, east of Morganton. Then on Sunday, a five-man tree crew headed for Morganton.
This assistance is provided through the ElectriCities Emergency Assistance Program, a team that coordinates assistance to areas in need from communities not affected by disasters. Wilson Energy line crews frequently respond through the EAP, and assistance was given to Wilson in 2022 when severe thunderstorms caused extensive damage to the system.
“We are grateful to be able to send crews to assist the areas devastated by Helene,” said John Maclaga, Director of Wilson Energy. “People in Wilson want to help our neighbors in Western North Carolina. They are helping - our community is providing specialized crews with the training and equipment needed to help restore power. The Wilson Energy crews are doing this critical work on behalf of the people of Wilson. It is a wonderful, real-world example of what we mean when we say public power is about neighbor helping neighbor.”
All crews remain in the western part of the state. Follow the city's Facebook page for updates on their work.
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Wilson Fire/Rescue Services crew heads to Asheville
More help is on the way from Wilson to Western North Carolina, which is reeling from the widespread damage from the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Wilson Fire/Rescue Services is sending four firefighters to Asheville to relieve exhausted first responders. Firefighter Angel Rubio, Engineer Johnny Hendricks, Master Firefighter Clay Barmer and Captain Josh Nichols left around noon on Monday with a van packed out with supplies.
Pictured, Deputy Chief Doug Bissette, left, and Chief Albert Alston, center, wish the firefighters a safe and productive trip.
Wilson is glad to be able to provide mutual aid to the mountain communities as we have often received assistance ourselves during weather events. By working together, we will recover quicker.
Heavy rainfall caused localized flooding in Wilson
Flash flooding and street flooding are common issues in communities like Wilson, which are at low elevations with mostly flat topography. Many neighborhoods in the city were built in areas prone to flooding before stormwater flood control measures became a requirement for development. For the past decade, we have completed several large-scale projects to address flooding concerns. The area near Wilson Medical Center historically flooded during heavy rains but now has localized flooding reduced due to the new stormwater infrastructure in place. The area around the Walmart Neighborhood Market is another area that used to create traffic and flooding issues during heavy rain. That area has benefited quite a bit from an underground storage system put in place during construction.
The city currently has several stormwater projects under construction and in development, but these measures take time and often make incremental progress. When we have heavy downpours in a short amount of time, like we did on Friday afternoon, streets will flood temporarily. During these times, we ask residents to stay in place until the waters recede, which thankfully usually happens quickly in Wilson. In the last month in Wilson, we’ve received nearly a quarter of our annual average rainfall. Wet conditions like these make flooding more likely when more precipitation is added. Friday afternoon’s rainfall was a 50-year storm in some areas of Wilson.
After every major incident, the city’s Stormwater Department team reviews precipitation and water level data and collects photos of high-water marks. Data collection (especially photo evidence) helps when applying for grant funding to improve infrastructure. Residents can help with the data collection by sending a message about flooded property through the Fix-It Wilson app (choose Property Issues, then Flooding on Property).
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