'Above and beyond': Hydro workers share stories of tornado cleanup

Hydro Ottawa workers who laboured around the clock to repair the city's tornado-ravaged power grid said the devastationwas unlike anything they'dever seen.

The front-line workers spoke to Ottawa Morning's Hallie Cotnam at an event held to honour their dedication and join the call for a National Lineworker Appreciation Day. Thatpush is coming from the Canadian Electricity Association, which would like the day marked each July 10.

Gordie Morrice

Gordie Morrice, 58, has decades of experience on the job, but was stillstunned when he saw the dozens of hydro poles downed by the storm.

"I have worked through many storms and I have never seen the carnage like this," he said. "I have seen it on TV, but never at home."

Morricerejects the notion he and his colleagues areheroes.

"We were doing our jobs. We are trained for that."

Morrice said that doesn't mean the support the workers have received from the public is unappreciated.

"They realized that this was above and beyond what anyone had seen," he said. "They would drop by with words of encouragement. They would drop by with a snack or a coffee or some food."

Patrick Brisson

Patrick Brissonremembers entering one of the city's hardest-hit neighbourhoods shortly after the storm passed,

"We saw the roofs and the trees and people stuck in their homes.... That hit hard."

Brisson, 32, hada baby waiting backhome, but said he didn't think twice about putting in16-hour days. He knew people needed their power back so they could start puttingtheir lives back together.

"You know people are relying on that," he said.

Shawn Ryan

Shawn Ryan is following in the father's footsteps as a lineman, and said he was thinking about him while he worked days on end to restore power after the tornado.

"I do remember the ice storm in 1998, because my dad was a lineman and he was gone for two weeks," he said.

Ryan, 34,said the devastation was hard to comprehend at first.

"It was just mass destruction. I couldn'tbelieve it," he said. "I couldn'tbelieve that nobody was killed. That is what I thought."

Jeff Hand

Like his colleagues,Jeff Hand recalls the moment he first witnessed the devastation.

"I was on Colonnade [Road] the first time I saw it, and it was something you would see on television that never happens around here."

Hand said one of his most difficult jobs that week was disconnecting homes that couldn't safely have electricity restored.

"Just to see the people's faces, realizing what happened to their homethat was hard for me."