High winds bring down trees and cause power outages

Mitch Borden/KMXT

Many people around Kodiak saw their lights go out last night due to a severe windstorm, that brought down a lot of trees and power lines. Kodiak Island Borough Assemblywoman Julie Kavanaugh was on her way home when she turned on to Sawmill Circle and saw:

“About four very large trees across the road that took out two power lines and there are multiple live wires on the ground.”

When she spoke to KMXT Kavanaugh said the down lines and trees blocked her from getting to her house. She hoped the Kodiak Electric Association, or KEA, would clear the road soon, but she wasn’t in too much of a hurry.

“We called KEA and they are, you know, we’re on their list but there are four or five sites on Sawmill and Lakeview that have the same problem. So they’ve got their hands full.”

To complicate matters, the harsh winds also made it dangerous for KEA repair crews to work on restoring power for part of the night. Darron Scott, the CEO and President of KEA, said work was delayed until wind speeds died down.

“The wind is just blowing too hard to really be a safe environment for those guys to be working in the area with potentially more trees coming down.”

According to Scott, KEA’s windmills on Pillar Mountain clocked gusts around 80 mph at one point. A KEA press release says power has been restored to most of the region, but Chiniak and some households in the Monashka Bay area are still without electricity. The press release says repair crews should get things working by tomorrow.