Abbeville recovering after storm

Abbeville faced obstacles with getting electricity back on after Hurricane Laura in August, namely because an Entergy transmission line went down and could not feed the city’s main substation.
No such issue occurred during Hurricane Delta, allowing crews to respond not long after the effects of the storm died down.
“We were able to start as soon as the wind subsided early Saturday morning,” Mayor Mark Piazza said on Monday. “We were able to send crews out to assess the damage.
“We were fortunate that we had power available to us at the Pete Noel substation.”
That substation, located near Abbeville High School, serves as the city’s main power source. Entergy could not feed power to that station immediately after Laura, leaving the city without power for more than a day. For Delta, things moved much more swiftly.
“We were able to energize Pete Noel on Saturday morning,” Piazza said. “We were able to activate five of the seven substations. We were able to start restoring power from there.”
Transformer issues also led to problems during Laura. The new transformer at the Bypass substation, which crews installed two weeks ago, held up. Piazza said the system overall held up well.
“We did not experience the transformer issues that we had for Laura,” Piazza said. “The system held. Our high-voltage lines were intact.”
Crews managed to make progress restoring power on Saturday.
“We were able to restore about 40% of the homes and businesses on Saturday,” Piazza said.
Prior to the storm, the city had lined up five electrical crews from out of town. More help arrived on Saturday.
“We were fortunate that there were some additional electrical crews that were going to go to Shreveport,” Piazza said. “Shreveport didn’t need them, so they came down here.”
In all, Abbeville had 10 crews from out of town.
“We were really able to get a lot of work done on Sunday,” Piazza said.
As of Monday morning, the city had about 95% of power restored.
Unlike Laura, trees fell at a much larger rate for Delta.
“The number of trees and branches gave me a flashback to Hurricane Lili,” Piazza said of the 2002 storm that also hit in early October. “It wasn’t quite that bad, but almost. There were a significant number of trees down.
“I would say five times more than Laura.”
As the city cleans up trees on roadways and right of ways, a pile is being made a A.A. Comeaux Park. Piazza said members of the fire department have helped with tree removal. Contractors lined up before the start of hurricane season by City Engineer Richard Primeaux also helped.
“They were very well organized,” Piazza said. “The contractors worked together with the fire department to get the trees cut up and removed.
“They did a tremendous job.”
Trees added to the damage that occurred throughout the city.
“We saw trees on roofs and houses,” Piazza said.
Businesses around the city suffered damage to awnings and roofs.
“You ride around the city and you see pieces of tin and shingles,” Piazza said. “There was a significant amount of roof damage to businesses and homes.”
As the power came back on at homes and businesses throughout the Acadiana area, people shared their thanks to linemen who have come from states throughout the Gulf region. Piazza said people shouldn’t forget the city’s own 9-man crew.
“That electrical crew that we have is something,” Piazza said. “Those guys, I don’t see how they do it. I don’t see how they work continuously for so many hours. They were up most of the night on Friday. They worked different hours through Saturday. When I talked to (Electrical Superintendent) Stewart Head on Sunday, he told me he had slept five hours in the last three days.”