Time of Need

As it swirled in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Harvey was initially classified as tropical storm. But when it was upgraded to a Category 1 and subsequently a Category 2 hurricane, Cody Tuttle and his dad swung into action at Tuttle’s Grocery & Market in Woodsboro, a small town in south Texas.

“We started boarding up the store windows, and then that’s when I started calling around for a generator,” Tuttle said. “We’ve always wanted to buy one but just never did.”

After making an estimated 60 calls, Tuttle was able to secure a 250 kV rental generator set from Holt Cat in San Antonio. With the help of a local electrician, the Tuttles were able to disconnect from the electric power grid and run on generator power through the storm, which began on a Friday night and extended into Saturday morning.

At the peak of the storm, sustained winds were 130 mph, with gusts up to 160.

“We can’t go more than three or four hours without electricity, otherwise the meat and other perishable goods will be ruined,” Tuttle said. “It was hooked up during the storm against the side of our building, and it kept everything running, saving us thousands of dollars in inventory.”