Inspecting from the air, fixing on the ground

Westbrook, Conn. (WTNH) - Officials from Northeast Utilities, the parent company of Connecticut Light & Power, told News 8 they have line and tree crews from as far away as Seattle and Vancouver assisting them.

They say the additional resources are critical, especially since the company's day-to-day workforce is smaller than it used to be.

"The crews themselves are probably smaller than they were 20-years ago, but with increased productivity we've been able to do that," said Sandra Ahearn, spokeswoman for Northeast Utilities.

More than a dozen out of state crews were up with the sun Thursday. Bused from their hotels to the staging area in Westbrook, they grabbed breakfast and then drove out to shoreline towns to begin their 16-hour shifts.

"When you have a wide-scale event of size and girth of Irene it's beyond anybody's ability to staff. You have to use mutual aid," said Bob Coates, vice president of Western Massachusetts Electric. "It's no different than a fire department. You can't have 300 firemen waiting for the one event that happens once in 100 years."

They launched a helicopter for the first time to get aerial images of the damage.

Flying over the distribution lines "will give us a better picture into the rural areas," Ahearn said.