With much of the country still mired in the coronavirus blues, STEC Equipment will cease to operate as a business and will assume the more important role of being a good neighbor. For a couple of days anyway.
Today, and maybe again tomorrow, 10 employees from the Anderson, South Carolina company and as many volunteers will take five truckloads of heavy equipment to provide much-need tornado relief to the town of Seneca. When 20 or so tornadoes swept across South Carolina on April 13, Seneca was hit as hard as anyplace. An EF-3 event with 160 mph winds killed one person and damaged or destroyed more than 200 homes, which is a lot in this neck of the woods.
We have been fortunate at STEC to be open and working. These people need help. We can help them, and we want to help them. There is no number we can place on being able to help others.
With people still under shelter-in-place orders, one-fourth of the town's 8,000 residents still don't have power 10 days after the storm.
The STEC team is bringing trackhoes, skidsteers, dump trucks, chainsaws, anything they can use to cut up and haul away trees and debris so people there can begin the log road of picking up their lives under unbelievably trying circumstances.
"Communities are just devastated," said David Taylor, president of STEC Equipment. "People have to stay home because of Covid. They have no power, their homes are shredded. Nobody has heavy equipment except DOT, and they're busy. Nobody is helping these people. I can't imagine going through this and not being able to find anyone to help you. It's a desperate situation."
From April 11-13, 137 tornadoes touched down from Texas to Maryland, according to the National Weather Service, and killed 32 people.
The tornadoes that tore through parts of the Southeast, including much of South Carolina, have left about 300,000 people without electricity. Local utility companies in Seneca and Oconee County estimate some areas will start to come online early next week.
Taylor hopes the efforts of the STEC crew will help expedite that. Local charities have been busy helping people, but lack the heavy equipment that STEC has.
Communities are just devastated. People have to stay home because of Covid. They have no power, their homes are shredded. Nobody has heavy equipment except DOT, and they're busy. Nobody is helping these people. I can't imagine going through this and not being able to find anyone to help you. It's a desperate situation.
"You have people with chainsaws, but they can't remove trees laying across houses and across roads," he said. "They can't get vehicles in and out. We're going to go in, cut them up and move them out so people can start to fix their lives.
"We're going to go there Friday and go as long as we can or until we run out of gas, and if we have to go back Saturday, we'll do that."
A couple of people will stay behind to operate the switchboard in Anderson, so STEC customers will still be able to reach the company's offices by phone. Otherwise, everyone will be in Seneca helping people in desperate need of assistance. The financial cost to the company is significant, though Taylor, who also is bringing enough food to feed about 100 locals in Seneca, was quick to deflect any talk about money.
"I'm a businessman, so I know what that number is, but this isn't about money," Taylor said. "To me that number is irrelevant. We have been fortunate at STEC to be open and working. These people need help. We can help them, and we want to help them. There is no number we can place on being able to help others."