Since Monday afternoon and then again after power was knocked out overnight for 12,000 Lake Country Power members, crews have been working around the clock to restore service for more than 6,300 members.
As of 3:45 p.m., Tuesday, June 30, more than 5,600 members remain without power as crews work on repairs at 230 outage locations.
Crews are responding to damages that include downed trees, downed lines, storm debris to chainsaw through and broken poles.
Lake States Construction is helping Lake Country Power crews restore power today, including two linemen from North Itasca Electric Cooperative. On Wednesday morning, July 1, more mutual aid is coming from Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative with two line crews, Arrowhead Cooperative with one crew and North Star Electric Cooperative with one crew.
“The crews worked through Monday night hoping to make progress and completion from the first storm, but then a second storm set us back worse than the first one,” said Derek Howe, chief operating officer for Lake Country Power. “We will hit the outages at full strength once mutual aid is completely available but in the meantime our crews are working full force. Tonight, we will have all crews rest after 11 p.m. for safety reasons as the three standby crews in each area respond to emergencies.”
At the height of the storm on Monday afternoon, 6,400 members lost power. Then at the height of the second storm early Tuesday morning, 12,000 members were out. Crews will continue working until the remaining 5,600 members have service, which could be a couple more days for some locations.
Crews are working in staggered shifts to allow for rest and safety. They are working 16 hours straight before a mandatory rest period.
Lake Country Power appreciates members’ support as restoration efforts continue. Crews are working safely and as quickly as possible to restore power.
If you see a downed power line, stay away. Also, do not remove debris or cut trees near power lines or rights-of-way.
Members may visit the Outage Map online at www.lakecountrypower.coop or http://outage.lcp.coop to watch the outage status. To report an outage, call 1-800-421-9959 or use the SmartHub app. Please refrain from reporting outages on Facebook.