DeSantis Announces One Million Gallons of Fuel, 25,000 Linemen on Standby As Hurricane Idalia Approaches

As Hurricane Idalia barrels up the Gulf of Mexico toward the Big Bend region of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has announced preparations.

“We have tens of thousands of utility workers staged, ready to go in for rapid power restoration," said DeSantis on Fox and Friends this morning. "We also have urban search-and-rescue teams staged, ready to go.”

"Duke Energy has been staging 5,000 of their own linemen along with trucks and other assets in preparation for #Idalia," posted DeSantis. "Florida Power and Light, TECO, and Co-ops and municipal utilities are also staging assets ready to deploy as soon as it is safe. We have at least 25,000 linemen ready to respond in impacted areas, and we will have 30,000-40,000 linemen staged by the end of the day."

DeSantis temporarily suspended his Presidential Campaign this week to lead the Hurricane preparation and response effort as Idalia is expected to spin into a Category 3 or possibly Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 160 miles per hour.

"As of this morning, we have over 25,000 linemen ready to go," said DeSantis at a Press Conference today. "By the time #Idalia hits, we will have “between 30,000 and 40,000 linemen” stationed and ready to immediately move in to restore power.