Monday’s fast-moving thunderstorm is affecting electric service for more than 2,100 Lake Country Power members. The thunderstorm brought hail, lightning and wind across the cooperative’s service area. A waterspout was reported and shared on Facebook by Williams Narrows Resort northwest of Deer River. 

Lake Country Power line crews are working to restore service at 57 various outage points, primarily in the northern region of the cooperative’s service territory which was hit the hardest.

Trees took down power lines and at least three broken poles are reported so far. Crews and dispatchers will work into the night until all service has been restored.

“If you see a downed power line, stay away from it and call Lake Country Power to report it immediately,” said Derek Howe, P.E. chief operating officer. “There is no way to tell if a power line is energized just by looking at it. Always assume it can carry current strong enough to kill.”

Members may call the cooperative at 1-800-421-9959 to report an outage, or visit the Outage Center online at www.lakecountrypower.coop or http://outage.lcp.coop for an outage status.

Lake Country Power, www.lakecountrypower.coop, is a Touchstone Energy® cooperative serving parts of eight counties in northeastern Minnesota. The rural electric cooperative provides services to more than 43,000 members and has offices located in Cohasset, Kettle River and Mountain Iron.