ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – High winds and heavy snowfall caused power outages for much of Escanaba Tuesday evening and through Wednesday.
According to the City Electric Department, two distribution lines came down around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, leaving roughly 300 customers without power on the south side of Escanaba. In order to safely repair the primary overhead lines, linemen were required to open switches, causing about 1,000 customers to lose power.
City Electric Utility Director Gerald Pirkola says linemen restored the distribution lines around 12:30 a.m. They continued to respond to individual customer outages throughout the city until 5:30 a.m.
“It was a lot of hard work,” said apprentice lineman Travis Frazier. “We all worked together to restore the power to the community.”
City linemen continued to respond to outages on Wednesday.
Overnight, Delta County Central Dispatch reported a high volume of calls regarding power outages. In a Facebook post, operators asked residents to call their power companies for restoration updates. Residents should call Central Dispatch immediately for downed lines or lines on fire.