Downed tree causes power outage during First Friday
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TweetMore than 50-mph wind gusts blew a tree into power lines during First Friday events on Aug. 5, cutting power to Haines and Skagway.
“For most of town it was out about thirty-five minutes,” AP&T manager Darren Belisle said. “There were parts of town that were out closer to three hours.”
Belisle said it’s unclear where the tree fell because they sometimes clear of the lines without breaking them, but still cause power outages.
“These are very hard to pinpoint,” he said.
AP&T crews restored power by starting Haines’ diesel generators but one of the engines shut down, causing a second power outage.
“We were able to pick up most of town again and some folks had to wait for repairs to be made on the system,” Belisle said. “We are now up and running once again so future outages will not be a problem for a timely restoration response.”
Belisle said the company clears right of ways annually in both Haines and Skagway; he urged residents to cooperate with crews that clear trees around power lines.
“When we show up there are some folks that get upset when we want to cut on their trees,” he said. “To clear around the line, we are able to cut down on outage times caused by trees in the line.”
He also encouraged residents to be mindful of where they plant trees by ensuring they won’t grow too close to power lines.
