AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. – Aiken and Edgefield counties are still in the recovery process just over a week since Hurricane Helene has passed through the Carolinas.  

Downed power lines, fallen trees and crushed homes have become a common sight in these communities. Now, people from near and far are coming together to help rebuild and restore what has been lost. 

Aiken Electric Cooperative’s Community Development Manager, Keyatta Priester, expressed her exhaustion. 

“I don’t even know what day it is,” said Priester, “I haven’t really seen my son in a week. I wake up in the morning and tell him I love him.” 

But for Priester, it’s the linemen, the boots on the ground, who are making the biggest sacrifice. 

Over 800 linemen from all over the country are helping out to rebuild Aiken and Edgefield’s power systems– crews from as far as Wisconsin and Kansas are working to restore electricity, according to Priester. 

In many sections of the area, entire power grids must be entirely rebuilt from the ground up. 

Travis Smith, crew leader with Aiken Electric, is one of those 800 linemen working day and night helping to restore power. 

“When I go to sleep for four hours, somebody’s working,” Smith said. 

And like many of the linemen, he rarely gets to see his family. 

“I’m up at 4:30 every morning and I don’t get home till 10:00, 11:00, 12:00… my kids try to stay awake to see me.” 

Smith considers himself fortunate to see his family as many of his fellow linemen are staying in makeshift tent cities. 

It took two to three days following Helene to fully set up spaces for the linemen to eat, sleep, shower and use the restroom, according to Priester.  

Priester shared that those who are not in operations, help out by cooking meals, doing laundry and helping with any necessities the linemen need during their stay. 

While the crews are still working to restore power, Smith has a message for those who are still in the dark: 

“We’re coming. We’re on the way. I promise you we’re gonna get you back on. It’s just gonna take time.” 

While Smith couldn’t provide an exact timeline for when power would be fully restored, Aiken Electric has a live outage map keeping track of restoration efforts.