APS employees head to Puerto Rico to help restore power after Hurricane Maria

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - Loading onto this bus are 50 APS employees about to embark on the trip of a lifetime.

The 50 employees have been deployed to lend a hand to restore power to the people of Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Maria.

"We've been watching the news, just keeping up with what's going on down there, how the process is progressing," said Danny, an APS employee. "We're kinda getting an update on a daily basis as far as what's going on and what to prepare for."

The 50 include linemen hole diggers, truck drivers, safety ops and supervisors, and they will join 1,500 other power crews from across America to help.

"Letting our guys know what to expect over there, obviously it's a lot different than Arizona, so we've paired our equipment and our training, especially pertaining to safety to what they're going to be seeing over there," said Frank, an APS employee.

It's no easy feat as Hurricane Maria was one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit the area. Although a difficult task to try and restore power to thousands who have been in the dark for months, the crew says they're up for the challenge.

"Well, it feels great because I know they haven't had power for so long and we don't even know where they're at, so we just want to help get the lights back on," Chris said.

The employees say it's a sacrifice they're more than willing to make.

"The real hand goes to these linemen," Frank said. "They're leaving their families for six weeks, giving time away from their families to help these people in Puerto Rico."