News Release from: Pacific Power
ELECTRICITY FULLY RESTORED IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN OREGON
Posted: December 28th, 2012 2:56 PM
Impassable roads, snow and ice, falling trees slowed crews working round the clock through Christmas to get power back on for customers
Restoration of electric service is now complete after a massive weather event dumped wet, heavy snow in southern Oregon and northern California, toppling trees, closing roads and knocking out power to thousands of Pacific Power customers. At its peak late December 20, approximately 22,775 customers were affected; by the next morning, there were still 14,000 customers without electric service in the region. The final two customers were put back in service December 28.
"We are so appreciative of our customers and their patience while our crews worked through treacherous conditions to get service restored," said Doug Butler, vice president of operations for Pacific Power. "We stayed on the job 24/7 through Christmas Day and beyond, but we were always very aware that, while we were working on these repairs, our customers were also spending the holidays very differently from how they'd planned."
Through it all and despite the difficult terrain and weather conditions, only one minor injury was reported -- a logistics worker slipped on ice, was checked and went back to work.
"Working in these extreme conditions for many days on end can be especially hazardous, so it's a credit to all involved that safety continued to be at the forefront and that they were all able to return home injury-free," said Butler. "This same concern for safety is why we encourage our customers to take all necessary precautions to be prepared for any emergencies, including outages, and to follow important safety guidelines during an outage event." These tips are available at www.pacificpower.net/safety.
When the storm hit, Pacific Power took immediate action to mobilize crews from throughout the Northwest, including contract crews and crews available from other utilities. Particularly hard-hit was the Yreka/Happy Camp area in California and Josephine County in Oregon. Dangerous driving conditions that for a time closed nearly all major roads into Grants Pass and caused periodic closures of Interstate 5 over the Siskiyou Mountains slowed the equipment mobilization of repair crews and delayed restoration.
Even with hundreds of field and support personnel brought in, assessments made it clear that restoration could take days for many customers, especially in more remote areas, due to blocked roads, landslides, broken trees, damaged poles and miles of downed wire.
In Happy Camp, blocked access forced Pacific Power to request emergency debris removal assistance December 23 from California state emergency management, to help clear roadways to assist in restoration efforts. Many access routes were in hazardous areas, including canyons and hillsides.
Snow was so heavy on trees and lines that crews found themselves installing new poles and wire in the same locations, multiple times, as trees continued to fall. All possible resources were deployed, including helicopter patrol of lines when weather permitted, snow cats, ATVs and even snow shoes when those were the only options.
By the morning of December 26, restoration work was at a point where there were more people working to repair damage and restore power than there were customers still without service -- 122 working to restore 119 customers in the more remote pockets around Grants Pass, and 135 working to restore 131 customers in Happy Camp. Poles were set and wire put up today to restore the final two customers in Happy Camp this afternoon.
In total, preliminary reports indicate more than 85,000 feet of wire was replaced, along with 51 poles, 335 crossarms and 56 transformers. Some 440 total staffing resources worked through the eight-day effort, including linemen, support staff, flaggers, tree trimmers, storekeepers and others. Pacific Power personnel were aided by 17 contract, 26 tree trimming and seven mutual assistance crews from Portland General Electric, Eugene Water & Electric Board, and Redding Electric Utility.
Throughout this event, there were many stories of generosity within hard-hit communities. The Red Cross offered warming centers and shelters to those needing assistance. Siskiyou County emergency services conducted wellness visits via snow cat to outlying areas to check on residents. And, the Karuk Tribe provided hot meals at the Karuk Tribe Resource Center, including warm turkey dinners on Christmas day.
"These actions -- neighbors helping neighbors -- are part of what makes us proud to serve these communities," said Butler. "We're all hopeful that winter will be kind, but our crews are prepared to respond to whatever comes our way. It's what we do, and it's always rewarding to get the lights back on for our customers."
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