July 27, 2021, 9:10 a.m.

Cohasset, Minn. – Lake Country Power line crews worked through the night tending to outages caused by severe storms that blew through the region Monday evening. Power has been restored to 4,000 members with more than 1,500 outages remaining this morning.

Those affected are primarily in the cooperative’s Grand Rapids and Kettle River service areas. 

The damage is extensive, especially near Grand Rapids. The cooperative is reporting trees on lines, downed power lines and at least 15 broken poles. Full restoration is anticipated by Wednesday evening as some areas will take longer to restore from the significant amount of damage from straight line winds.

All Lake Country Power line crews are currently working to restore service. At least five additional LCP line crews from the co-op’s Mountain Iron Service Center are assisting crews in the Grand Rapids area where most outages exist. LCP tree crews are helping chainsaw trees and remove brush so lineworkers can access areas needing repair. 

The public is urged to stay clear of debris as power lines could be tangled in brush and limbs. Any downed power lines should be considered “live” and left for lineworkers to handle with their specialized safety equipment. DO NOT attempt to move downed lines or trees/brush near downed wires.  

Members may call the cooperative at 1-800-421-9959 for more information, or visit the Outage Center online at www.lakecountrypower.coop or http://mi.lcp.coop:82 for a real-time outage status.