Hannibal BPW crew working to restore power in southern Missouri

Four Hannibal Board of Public Works have been working in southern Missouri helping to restore power in Fredericktown, a community hard hit by severe weather which struck the area last week.
According to Don Willis, general manager of the Hannibal Board of Public Works, four personnel from Hannibal and two BPW trucks have been stationed in Fredericktown since May 9.
“It was pretty bad,” said Willis, adding that the crew will likely be returning to Hannibal on Saturday, May 16. “There were places that were totally destroyed because of the tornado.”
Jim McCarty of the Rural Missouri Co-op reported that the heaviest damage remains in the Fredericktown area, where efforts continue to restore power to 5,800 members.
“There are so many downed trees and other debris in the way that crews are using bulldozers to clear a path to the damaged lines,” said McCarty in a press release. “Including Black River employees, there are now more than 520 workers on the ground in the cooperative’s service area.”
Black River Electric, the co-op which services Fredericktown, reportedly had 1,500 poles down making it the worst storm in the cooperative’s 71-year history.