Six-hour blackout slated Monday
Early morning power outage scheduled to repair upper valley transmission line
By GREG MOORE
Express Staff Writer
Idaho Power Co. plans to cut power throughout northern Blaine County for six hours early Monday morning, Oct. 11, so company crews can repair a damaged transmission line.
The outage, from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., will affect the area from St. Luke?s Wood River Medical Center north to Galena Lodge.
According to company spokesperson Anne Alenskis, the outage will affect about 8,000 customers, including those in Ketchum and Sun Valley. She said the area affected by the outage is so extensive because the damaged line is a transmission line that serves the entire valley north of the Wood River substation near St. Luke?s.
Alenskis said the damage was due to vandalism to the line near the medical center. However, she said the company is not releasing any more information on that subject. Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling said his office had not received a report from Idaho Power on the incident.
Ketchum bars and restaurants will need to close early on Sunday. The Casino, the town?s most well known late-night spot, has a scheduled closing of 11 p.m.
Ketchum Police Chief Cory Lyman said that even streetlights will be out.
?People who have been through a complete blackout in town know how many problems it can cause,? Lyman said. ?It?s amazing how dark it gets?people won?t even be able to find their cars.?
Forecasted cloudy weather, with possible rain or snow showers, should make the night a dark one indeed.
Emergency services, however, should not be affected?the medical center and police and fire departments switch to power from generators as soon as the main power supply goes out.
?As far as we?re concerned, a power outage is not a big deal,? said Ketchum Assistant Fire Chief Mike Elle.
Elle said smoke alarms will not be tripped by the outage and sprinkler systems are tripped purely by heat melting glass around a plug that allows the water to flow.
Jon McGregor, a spokesperson for Sentinel alarms, said security alarms all have backup battery power.
Verison Wireless cell phones will operate normally, a company spokesman said. However, cordless phones will be out of operation without electricity.
Tanya Keim, manager of community relations for St. Luke?s, said the hospital?s generating system has never been used in an emergency, but the system is tested once a week.
The three local commercial radio stations will probably be off the air during the outage. Morning Show host Lenny Joseph said the stations have battery backup, but no generator to allow them to go without power for six hours. Boise State University?s National Public Radio station, which broadcasts locally from a transmitter on top of Baldy, is also expected to be off the air.
At Atkinsons? Market, store manager Gary Behr said a backup battery system will keep freezers and refrigerators operating.
Idaho Power Co. offers the following suggestions to customers for dealing with a power outage:
· Turn off all appliances before the outage is to occur, and unplug the major ones. Leave only one light on to let you know when the power is restored. Leaving appliances off will allow Idaho Power to turn on everyone?s power more quickly and will protect your appliances against voltage surges.
· When power is restored, wait a few minutes and turn on appliances in 10-minute intervals.
· If unopened, a freezer should stay frozen for 72 hours. However, to be sure food is kept cold, fill milk cartons or other containers with water and freeze them to leave in the freezer and to put in the refrigerator.
?We apologize for any inconvenience that this outage may cause our customers,? stated Mike Pohanka, Idaho Power?s outage coordinator, in a press release. ?However, these repairs are necessary to maintain service reliability in the area.?
