MILLCREEK, Utah — The storm may have passed, but clean-up and power restoration has been an all-day effort Sunday along the Wasatch Front.
Some 30,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm.
Rocky Mountain Power crews have been working around the clock to handle the surge in demand. By Sunday night, they had restored electricity to all but about 1,800.
READ: Utahns sift through damage, debris after weekend snowstorm
FOX 13 News spoke to a Millcreek resident who couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the moment the power went out at 7 a.m.
“The power lines across the street bounced because the snow fell off, and when it bounced it caught a limb, and then it started arching all over the place,” said Tisha Fratello.
That’s when she ran inside to get her tablet to capture the explosion on camera.
She said there were about four explosions before the power finally went off. She says a firetruck showed up shortly after, along with power crews, and the power was restored within about an hour.
“One of the unique things about this storm was just how weighty and heavy the snow was. So what we’ve done is brought in crews from out of state, from Wyoming, Idaho, and different parts of Utah that aren’t affected to come assist in restoration efforts,” Rocky Mountain Power spokeswoman Tiffany Erickson said.
DAILY FORECAST: Short break before more snow
Erickson says storms like these are a good reminder to prepare a kit with food, water, backup batteries, and power banks.
She advises customers to be prepared for up to 72 hours without essential services in events like these — and make sure to call.
“If you do have an outage, it’s important to call in and report it," Erickson said. "We don’t have necessarily a blinking light for every customer’s home, so the more people reporting in those outages, it's easier for our crews to pinpoint where the problem is and identify what it is. That means quicker restoration."
If you encounter a downed power line, always consider it live and dangerous. If you need assistance immediately, call 911. If you need to report a downed power line or other power emergencies, call Rocky Mountain Power at 877-508-5088.
