High winds knock out power across Elmore County

Winds reaching speeds of more than 60 miles per hour on Dec. 17 led to a number of power outages across Elmore County.

One outage reported at 9:36 a.m. that morning affected the residents of the Atlanta community in the northern area of Elmore County that also knocked out telephone communications for those living there.

In total, 754 homes in the Atlanta, Pine and Featherville area lost power that day with 707 of those customers still without power. According to Brad Bowlin, a spokesman with the state utility company, utility crews expect to restore electrical services to these communities by noon Dec. 18.

The wind storm led to numerous other outages in Elmore and Owyhee counties, ranging from a single customer to several hundred, Bowling said.

“In Mountain Home, we had two separate outages that affected about 580 customers total,” he said. “Both started shortly after 11 a.m. and were restored within about two hours.”

A broken railroad crossarm led to one of these outages as a result of the wind itself or something being blown into the line. Another power outage started after the wind caused electrical power lines to get blown together.

In addition, Idaho Power crews reported that trees fell through power lines at multiple locations. The storm also damaged other power poles with some areas not accessible due to downed trees that blocked the streets and roadways with utility crews continuing to check for other types of wind-related damage.

“We appreciate everyone’s patience as we all work through this first blast of winter,” Bowlin said. “It’s also good to remind folks that any downed powerline should be considered energized, and people should stay at least 100 feet away.”

The spokesman also asked residents to report these incidents by calling Idaho Power at (208) 388-2323 or by reporting these emergencies by dialing 911.