Seeking Higher Ground: 500 Trucks Saved in Heroic Effort to Outpace Ike
09/13/2008

Entergy crews conducted a massive evacuation of line trucks from Port Fourchon, La., hours before Ike’s landfall, saving roughly $100 million in equipment needed to help restore power in the deadly hurricane’s wake. All totaled, 11 busloads of drivers navigated their way through flooded streets to reach the trucks, then took the 500-vehicle fleet north through rising waters and floating debris.

“This task was one of the most challenging efforts I’ve undertaken in 20 years of employment with Entergy,” said Jim LaBudde, lead coordinator on the ground effort and an Entergy Continuous Improvement manager during calmer times. “But I could not have asked for a better group of dedicated – and safe – people to assist with the recovery of this equipment.”

Based on weather reports of increasing tides, storm coordinators made the decision early Thursday morning to bus crews from the Hilton Hotel in New Orleans to remove the vehicles stationed in the sea port community of Port Fourchon. With little advance warning of the rising water, the logistic team worked to acquire the equipment needed to clear the roadways and safely transport their crews via charter bus to the fleet of trucks.

“The people who assisted in this evacuation put their personal properties at risk to recover the equipment and ultimately advance the restoration efforts,” LaBudde said. “To be honest, the weather and terrain situation was a real mess, but our people came through and found a way to make it happen.”