Power problems far from over

The Daily Inter Lake

Flathead Electric Cooperative expects spot power outages to continue in the Flathead Valley and Libby as a result of the severe storms Wednesday night.

At about 2:30 p.m. Thursday, the Kalispell Police Department issued a press release announcing all traffic lights were out in the city of Kalispell. Drivers were instructed to treat all intersections as 4-way stops.

The major stoplight on Montana 35 at Bigfork was also out of commission Thursday afternoon.

"Our biggest area we still have out is the Bigfork area," Stephanie Wallace, cooperative spokesman, said Thursday.

She said the problem in Bigfork was caused by trees falling on a large fabricated transmission pole on Holt Drive near the post office. Wallace had no firm estimate of the time required to repair the pole as of late morning Thursday.

"Because it was a transmission line, we have a lot of work on our hands to resolve that issue," she said.

The Holt Drive damage impacted residents in Bigfork, Ferndale, the east shore of Flathead Lake and Swan Valley. Crews from Flathead Electric and Mountain Power still are working in the area, including installing two standard poles at the site.

Even after repairing the main transmission line, crews face the uncertainty of finding other downed lines that feed electricity to subdivisions and individual homes in the greater Bigfork area.

Flathead Electric Cooperative continued to receive word of "straggler" outages from various areas Thursday afternoon. Officials said to expect temporary outages as crews disconnect power to safely make repairs.

Thousands of members of Flathead Electric Cooperative - including those in Kila, Marion, Kalispell, Creston, Many Lakes, Happy Valley and north Whitefish - lost power at approximately 9 p.m. Thursday.

About 30 power poles were downed or damaged in the unusually powerful storm. Where possible, crews rerouted power to restore service to these areas as quickly as possible.

"We had 16 poles down on Lower Valley Road that blew over," Wallace said. "It was just unbelievable the strength the wind must have had. It was wind, not trees, that knocked them down."

Nine crews in the Flathead and two in Libby worked throughout the night as did dispatchers and support staff. Crews restored power to the majority of customers between 2 and 3 a.m. Thursday.

People in Happy Valley had electricity restored at about 5 a.m.

"We sure appreciate everyone's patience," Wallace said.

She said the cooperative rarely experiences such a widespread, diverse storm.

Flathead Electric Cooperative trustee Alan Ruby agreed.

"In the last 28 years, I haven't seen anything like what I saw last night," Ruby said in a press release from the cooperative.

Power was out in Kalispell from 9 p.m. Wednesday night until 3:15 a.m. Thursday morning at the Daily Inter Lake, delaying publication of Thursday's edition.

For full details of the storm and its aftermath, see special coverage in Friday's Daily Inter Lake.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.