UPDATE: A line crew from the Lansing Board of Water and Light left for Florida Friday morning as Hurricane Irma makes its way towards the state.
The crew will be meeting up with other Michigan utilities that have also traveled to Florida's southeast coast.
BWL crews plan on staying in Florida for at least 2 weeks, but are prepared to extended that based on the severity of damage.
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Michigan utilities are sending hundreds of workers to Florida so they're ready to assist with power restorations when Hurricane Irma hits the state.
DTE Energy is sending roughly 300 line workers plus 100 tree trimmers. They're expected to reach northern Florida by Friday afternoon, where they'll be on standby until needed.
More than 200 Consumers Energy employees and contract personnel are headed from Michigan to Florida to assist local electric companies preparing for the hurricane. They're also expected to arrive on Friday and could remain in Florida for up to two weeks.
Michigan utilities often get help from out-of-state crews during major outages. During a storm in July, for example, crews from four states assisted Consumers Energy in its restoration work.
