Vietnam vet without power since Hurricane Milton is one step closer to getting electricity restored

Restoring power to veteran who’s been in the dark since Hurricane Milton

A Vietnam veteran who has been without power since Hurricane Milton knocked a tree on his house that damaged an electrical box is a little bit closer to having electricity after Beyel Brothers removed the tree for free on Monday. Ariel Plasencia reports.

BRANDON, Fla. - After nearly 15 weeks without power due to Hurricane Milton, a veteran in Brandon is one step closer to getting the lights turned back on, thanks to local organizations.

Hurricane Milton knocks out power

The backstory:

During the Oct. 9 storm, a large tree fell onto the roof of Charles "Dan" Jackson’s house from his backyard, damaging his electrical box.

"I was in a bad financial position, so I couldn't do it myself," Jackson said of trying to get the tree removed.

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The Vietnam veteran couldn’t afford to have the fallen tree removed from his backyard. Additionally, he said he reached out to FEMA and TECO, but both organizations told him they couldn’t help.

A tree fell on Jackson's house during Hurricane Milton and damaged the electrical box.

So, for over three months, he has sat powerless.

"Existing," Jackson said. "Not living. Existing."

A beacon of light

Dig deeper:

His next-door neighbors quickly became his light.

"We just ran a power cord from our house to his," neighbor Brooke Miller said.

Thanks to Miller’s power supply, Jackson said he’s been able to run his mini fridge and microwave. Miller and her family have also been helping Jackson with meals and laundry.

Jackson's neighbors ran an electrical cord from their homes to his, so he could power a mini-fridge and computer.

Meanwhile, Jackson has been getting power from his other next-door neighbor to power his computer, TV, and a small heater.

"This is a man who served our nation," Miller said. "He is a very wonderful man. Very quiet, very self-reserved. But you just do it. If there was more that I could have done, I would."

The nonprofit, Angel Foundation FL, heard about Jackson’s situation.

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"We wanted to do whatever we could to help him, and our organization has some great community partners that have stepped up to help," Angel Foundation FL’s Debbi Figlewski told FOX 13.

"The mission of the Angel Foundation FL is to partner with businesses and individuals to be a caring resource for families in our community experiencing a temporary crisis due to a life-threatening illness or catastrophic event."

Beyel Brothers used a crane to remove the tree for free on Monday.

In this case, the nonprofit partnered with Beyel Brothers, a local crane company, to remove the tree for free.

"We go past the storm, we forget there's people that need help," Scott Russell, general manager of Beyel Brother’s Tampa location, said.

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In order to reach over Jackson’s house to access the fallen tree in the backyard -- while also dodging existing power lines – crews with Beyel Brothers brought in a large 245-ton crane Monday.

"We're going to reach over and cut the tree out in sections, so we can be able to get it off," Russell said when describing the plan.

After the tree was removed Monday, crews from Quality Roofing worked to fix Jackson’s damaged roof free of charge.

What they're saying:

"This collaborative effort is a testament to the strength of community and the belief that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference in someone's life," Josh Morris, service operations manager for Quality Roofing, told FOX 13. "Together, we hope to make things a little easier for Mr. Jackson and demonstrate that through unity, we can rebuild and strengthen our community."

"And I thank the Lord for them," an emotional Jackson said of the people coming together to help him. "And now, now I’m being delivered."

Turning the power back on

What's next:

Now that the tree has been removed and is finally out of the way, electrical crews will need to come out to fix Jackson’s electrical box and actually restore his power, something that is expected to happen soon.

However, his neighbors say they’ll continue to take care of him until then.

The Source: This story was written using information collected by FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia.

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