Over 50,000 linemen — the “largest staging of utility workers and linemen in advance of the storm any time in American history” — will respond to Hurricane Milton, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Wednesday as the massive Category 4 storm barrels down on the Sunshine State.
In a Wednesday morning update, DeSantis walked through some of the preparations the state has taken ahead of the storm, which is expected to make landfall late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning on the west coast of Florida, potentially south of Tampa, although wiggles and wobbles are certain.
“Hurricane Milton is heading our way. It will arrive either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. We are bracing and are prepared to receive a major hit. We’re facing this with the seriousness it deserves, but also with the determination that we will get through this,” DeSantis said, making it clear that first responders are prepared to respond to Hurricane Milton.
“The common virtue has been dedication — dedication to the task at hand, dedication to responding, to help our fellow Floridians in danger, and dedication to ensuring that Florida weathers this storm and emerges stronger on the other side,” he said, noting that he has spoken to President Joe Biden and remains in “regular contact” with FEMA. “We are prepared and we will respond.”
Twenty other states, DeSantis added, are assisting Florida in its efforts. He thanked them for their assistance.
“This is just what we as Americans do. We’ve had opportunities to help other states in the past, including most recently in western North Carolina. And I think it shows the spirit that these states are stepping up and providing really valued support,” he said.
“We’ve delivered massive amounts of supplies, meals, water bottles, sandbags, tarps, generators to be able to help our local communities respond to this storm,” he said, noting that they have deployed Starlink internet across the state as well. “We’ve also deployed more than 11,000 feet of flood protection systems and erected them around critical infrastructure like hospitals, wastewater treatment facilities and electric infrastructure.”
“We have surged an additional 600 ambulances, and they are currently in operation, helping in the effort. The state of Florida has considerable fuel reserves ahead of Milton, and it’s staged, and they will be utilized as needed following the storm,” he continued.
“We have hundreds of state search and rescue personnel on hand — 26 total teams. They are currently embedded in the potential impact sites along the west coast to begin immediate rescue operations as soon as the storm passes,” he said, noting that the National Guard is deploying 6,000 Florida National Guardsmen “as well as 3,000 National Guardsmen from other states.”
In addition, they have 34 search and rescue aircraft, 500 tactical vehicles, “including 180 high water vehicles, aerial water and ground National Guard search and rescue teams.”
“This is the largest Florida National Guard search and rescue mobilization in the entire history of the state of Florida,” he said.
Further, while DeSantis said on Tuesday they will have 37,000 linemen ready to go to restore power, that figure is now at 50,000 thanks to more out-of-state crews from as far away as California.
“We have also worked with the utilities to have the largest staging of utility workers and linemen in advance of the storm any time in American history,” he announced.
“We will have in Florida by the time the storm arises, over 50,000 linemen, and those linemen are being brought in from places as far away as California,” he continued.
“So as soon as that storm passes, you’re going to see the assessments and the power restoration efforts commence immediately,” he added.
WATCH the full presser below:
