Chiniak, Pasagshak Ring New Year In Without Electricity

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT
A series of fallen trees left some Kodiak residents entering the New Year without power. Nancy Sweeney is the communication and human resource specialist for Kodiak Electric Association and said extremely windy weather on December 31 caused a number of trees to fall on the Chiniak and Pasagshak power lines, cutting power to areas of Women’s Bay and out the road. She said winds were gusting up to 85 miles per hour when KEA dispatched a line crew to patrol the line to determine the cause of the outage. The crew discovered a number of fallen trees and was able to restore power to the Coast Guard receiver site at Holiday Beach and Middle Bay just before 3:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day.
Sweeney said a large portion of the Chiniak and Pasagshak lines are off the road system and difficult to access. The line crew was called off the search for additional lines until daylight due to inclement weather. Power was restored to the Kodiak Launch Complex and Pasagshak on the afternoon of January 1.
On Wednesday, line crews continued to patrol the power line via helicopter and were able to spot additional downed trees and restore power to all users shortly after 1 p.m. Sweeney said she is pleased with the hard work and time KEA’s crews gave and appreciates residents for being patient with them as they worked to resolve the outages.