LAFAYETTE PARISH — In Lafayette Parish, crews with SLEMCO say preparation for major storms is constant — long before the first wind gust arrives.
“I do love what I do," said Bret Dore, a lineman with SLEMCO. "That sense of reward, being able to keep people’s power on,"
Dore has spent 20 years in the field, including response work during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, experiences he says shaped how he views both the danger and the purpose of the job.
“You’re getting the power back on. You’re restoring a sense of normalcy again to other people. People we don’t know, but it doesn’t matter,” he said.
Linemen emphasize that while the work is rewarding, it can also be unpredictable and dangerous.
“A split second, that’s all it takes. One small accident can tear up a family,” Torey Quebedeaux, also a linemen, said, underscoring the risks crews face while working on live systems and storm-damaged infrastructure.
Dore says safety is central to every decision in the field.
“So yes, it is dangerous, but you can’t think of it that way because we have a lot of safety procedures in place to keep us safe — not just us, but the public,” he said. “It’s only as dangerous as you make it.”
Thursday, Dore and his crew were already working through routine installations and maintenance — part of a larger effort to stay ready for hurricane season.
“We make sure that all of our trucks are fully stocked to eliminate having to continue going back and forth from the yard and try to knock it out in a timely manner and in a safe manner,” he said.
Preparation, he added, is not limited to storm season. It happens year-round through equipment checks, system upgrades, vegetation management, and ongoing training.
“It’s not just preparing for the individual storms. It could be any storm,” Dore said. “We replace poles, we replace old wire, they keep the trees trimmed back from the lines.”
For linemen, storm restoration often means leaving home for weeks at a time.
“Most of the time we’re gone for a couple weeks, maybe a month," Dore said. "Even being away for a couple of weeks, it does tend to take its toll."
He said modern communication helps ease the distance, but the sacrifice is still real.
“It’s a double-edged sword. It is rewarding, but it is a little heartbreaking having to stay away for a while," Dore said. "You do miss anniversaries, holidays, birthdays.”
Dore said past storms like Katrina and Rita remain defining moments in his career.
“I’ve never seen that much water before. The destruction — it was strange to see,” he said. “It took a very long time to recover from those.”
After completing restoration work locally, he and other crews traveled to assist neighboring utilities.
“We went and helped them, and then we also went to help another sister company,” he said.
Linemen also stress that safety extends beyond the work crews themselves — it includes how the public responds during and after storms.
“Any wire you see on the ground — stay away from it. Contact your utility,” Dore said. “Even if it’s not the right utility, someone will be able to go to that location and verify who it’s for.”
He also warned about improper generator use, which can create serious hazards.
“If you backfeed our line through not properly installing a generator, it can become a very dangerous situation for the public as well as ourselves,” he said.
For Dore and his colleagues, the job goes beyond technical skill — it’s built on trust and shared experience.
“It’s definitely a brotherhood. You get through trials together. It only brings you closer,” said Quebedeaux.
Despite the risks and sacrifices, Dore says the mission keeps him going.
To learn more about hurricane preparedness, click here .
