Whenever someone flips a light switch at their home, the pathway that ensures it brightens the room was made possible by a lineman.

Being a lineworker is one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. According to World Metrics, it is four times deadlier than the national average. In fact, one is more likely to suffer a fatal injury working as a lineman than they are on the police force.

Despite the danger, lineworkers brave all kinds of conditions to help get people’s power back on. After all, the power doesn’t usually go out on a sunny day.

Two Rowan County-based Duke Energy lineworkers, Tim Overcash and Matt Josey, did not know exactly what was in store when they ventured into the mountains of western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene last year. All they knew was that what they would find would not be pretty, but that did not stop them from answering Duke Energy’s call for volunteers to go work to repair the devastated region.

Overcash has been a lineworker for nearly 50 years.

“I’ve traveled on storms to Detroit, to the Midwest, up in Pennsylvania for (Hurricane) Sandy, we’ve traveled to Florida numerous times, traveled to the Carolina coast,” Overcash said. “I can’t say that they weren’t devastating, but you always run into that one that really sticks in your mind.”

In Overcash’s case, that was Helene.

Josey, who became a lineman 14 years ago after a stint in the Marine Corps, said Duke Energy did not force them to go to western N.C. but rather sought volunteers. He confirmed what Overcash said regarding the devastation.

“During my career, Hurricane Sandy and Matthews and Irene and everything else, and most of the time, when you’re running storms like that, you see a lot of just flood damage and some wind damage in areas, but not to the level of just total devastation of what the mountain went through,” he said.

Overcash and Josey were sent to Spruce Pine, a small town about 20 minutes west of Linville Falls.

“I mean, (these people) lost their stuff, lost their house, lost their cars and bunch of valuables, and so we did not know what was actually the devastation that we were getting into and when we got there, there was nothing on,” Josey said. “The whole town was out of power, not just a substation or something like that. It was nothing.”

According to Overcash, their work to restore power to the residents of that area put them face to face with numerous people who had been without electricity for a couple of weeks.

“Those people were so humble, so kind, willing to do anything, never complaining and never fussed about, ‘When are you going to get my power back on?'” Overcash said. “They were just thankful to see us. At times, you pull up, and they’ve already taken it upon themselves to cut any debris out the way it could be removed.”

Amazingly, despite having lived off of rations for weeks, the people there offered Overcash and his fellow crewman food and water.

“I’m like, ‘No, we got access to food. We have access to water. We’re good. We’re here to help you,'” Overcash said. “Many of those people didn’t have half a home, and they’re trying to survive, and they’re still just as kind and polite and nice, and everybody’s working together … It made you feel proud to help.

“People take it for granted because we’re so used to the luxuries of the world today. Yeah, we have power, we have the internet, we have cable, we have running water, but when your power goes out, you go down to nothing, right … You know, it’s just, it’s very humbling because you are the only one able to restore their life to at least a portion of normalcy, right?”

Overcash said they stayed in a place called Big Lynn Lodge in an area known as Little Switzerland. The owner never lost power in the storm but was gracious to his guests and Duke Energy for showing up in a time of crisis.

“He said, ‘You know, I’ll never complain about my power bill ever again,'” Overcash said. “… But, he said, ‘Duke Energy showed up with a tremendous workforce, and they kicked butt and took names.'”

The crews worked 16-hour days, seven days a week, to restore power to the people of Spruce Pine and surrounding areas. The work was exhausting, but the experience gleaned was worth it for the lineworkers because they saw so much good in spite of all the destruction.

“With everything going on in the country, and I guess a storm like that hits a community and just the good-hearted people just watching out for each other and putting other people before themselves,” Josey said.

April 18 is National Lineworker Appreciation Day. Knowing how critical lineworkers can be in moments of tragedy, maybe they deserve more than that, so if you see a lineman today, be sure to thank them.