Irby Comes Together in the Wake of Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida as a category 4 hurricane on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 28th, 2022. Ian tied for the fifth-strongest hurricane to make landfall in United States history, and caused around $60 billion in damage. There are at least 120 deaths because of Hurricane Ian, a harrowing number that speaks to the severity of the storm.

Irby crews began to assemble well before the hurricane made landfall, in order to be readily available when it was safe to get to work. Irby assigned more than 600 linemen across the state of Florida to join in assisting power restoration efforts. Crews worked 16-hour rotating shifts around the clock. Away from their families, our brave linemen even slept in their trucks the first few nights following the storm, as hotels didn’t have working power. 

Over 2 million people were without power when the storm blew through, and by October 4, just a week later, that number had been reduced to below 1 million. Storm restoration efforts will be ongoing for the next several months. We are proud of the way our Irby family has come together to serve the people of Florida.  

“Our group has pulled together as a family to do everything we can to not only restore power, but also to help others impacted the greatest by this storm,” said Tim Halsey, Vice President of Operations for Irby. “We are committed to doing whatever it takes to support our employees, their families, and the community,” Halsey said.

As always, Irby Construction is taking every safety precaution in our storm restoration efforts. We will continue to be our brother’s keeper and work safely to restore power to those affected by Hurricane Ian, as the last thing these victims should worry about is their access to power.