A dark and stormy night: High winds knock down trees, power lines
Strong winds Monday afternoon took their toll on power lines hit by falling trees causing a number of electricity outages from Nikiski to Anchor Point.
Homer Electric Association spokesman Joe Gallagher said the largest outage occurred in the Nikiski area at about 4:30 p.m., affecting 1,200 people from just past the Tesoro refinery to the end of the road.
"By 6:45 we had about half the people back on from the refinery to the shopping mall," Gallagher said. "The rest of the area to the end of the road was restored by 8:30."
Another large outage was in the Ciechanski Road area where power was out for 580 homes from 4 p.m. to 6:30.
HEA crews also responded to outages in the Lawton Drive area of Kenai and a neighborhood near Murwood Drive off Kalifornsky Beach Road.
In Anchor Point, 912 homes were dark from 7 to 9 p.m.
"As a reminder, people should always stay away from downed power lines," Gallagher said, adding any downed lines should be reported to HEA.
Phil Hermanek can be reached at phillip.hermanek@peninsulaclarion.com.