TOOELE, Utah, Oct. 2, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — The exact circumstances aren’t yet clear, but a power pole came down on a freight train in Tooele County on Sunday night, leading to several other poles being pulled down.
It was reported that a total of 25 poles were involved.
Rocky Mountain Power spokesman Dave Eskelsen did not have an exact location for the incident, but said multiple poles are down and, depending on the extent of the damage, repairs could take several days.
On Sunday night, Tooele School District announced on Twitter that Stansbury High School, Rose Springs Elementary, and Stansbury Park Elementary will be closed Monday.
At 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Rocky Mountain Power was reporting on its website that more than 4,000 customers were without service in Erda, Lake Point, Stansbury and Tooele. The estimated time of restoration given on the website was 11:30 p.m. Monday.
It is also reported that 632 customers in Midvale are without power, with an estimated restoration time of 4 a.m. Monday.
Eskelsen said the first step is to “isolate the damage and restore customers’ power from other directions.” He said most substations have more than one supply of electricity, so when possible, they will draw from their other sources to get power to as many customers as they can.
North Tooele Fire District is asking people to avoid specific areas where power lines are down: 1600 E. Pine Canyon and Droubay Road; Bates Canyon Road; and 5300 N. Oswego.
Eskelsen said the Pine Canyon substation is likely a separate incident.
High winds — up to 65 mph — have been reported in the area, and may be responsible for some power lines being down. Severe weather is expected to move across Utah on Sunday night and into Monday.
To report a power outage, call Rocky Mountain Power at 877-508-5088.
Gephardt Daily will update this story as more information becomes available.
