PERRY, Fla. – Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie told News 6 the automatic power grid system called “backfeeding” was tested in real time during a live news conference in Tallahassee Wednesday morning and passed without a hitch.
While Gov. Ron DeSantis was briefing reporters on the storm’s impact, the lights went out and came back on in exactly 5 seconds; that put a smile on Kevin Guthrie’s face.
“I was saying OK, five, four, three, two, one, yep, it’s on a 5-second switch,” Guthrie recalled. “So, it all worked out.”
Backfeeding was also obvious as News 6 veteran reporter-anchor Erik Von Ancken was reporting in Perry, Florida, in Taylor County.
Viewers saw surges knock out power transformers, lighting up like fireworks, and the power returned in seconds.
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Guthrie urged residents to make safety the priority as areas recover from Hurricane Idalia’s Category 3 winds and rain.
“A wire down on the ground may not be a deadline,” Guthrie said. “People need to be cognizant of that, stay away from lines that are on the ground, entangled in the trees, that needs to be removed by a professional.”
Guthrie said for homeowners dealing with storm damage “it is all about documentation.”
He suggested residents take photographs or video to “show us your damage” and do not wash off debris — use a ruler or tape measure and a visual reference like a “door knob” to determine water level.
“We want to know how high that water went,” Guthrie said. “Take a picture of that water line, that’s going to be imperative when you are dealing with individuals like FEMA or your insurance company.”
As for restoration following storm damage, Guthrie urges residents to remember “nobody should be doing a cash deal at their doorstep.”
“Call your insurance company or call CFO Jimmy Patronis office at 1-877-693- 5236 (from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and make sure that you handle things properly,” he said. “We don’t want people to be injured by the disaster and then by people trying to take advantage of them.”
Guthrie joined DeSantis in Taylor County to “get eyes on” the damage and determine if additional resources would be needed.
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