HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 07-05 Power outages could last for days, Xcel Energy warns PIONEER PRESS7/6/2016 Power outages could last for days, Xcel Energy warns — Twin Cities
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PUBLISHED: July 5, 2016 at 6:11 pm I UPDATED: July 6, 2016 at 12:57 pm
A day after a powerful line of severe thunderstorms with winds of more than 70 mph moved through central Minnesota, tens of
thousands still were without power Wednesday.
More than 250,000 Xcel Energy customers lost power during the storm. As of 10 a.m., about 66,000 customers were still without
power in Minnesota. Of those, about 19,000 were in Ramsey County and about 29,000 were in Hennepin County.
"Due to the extensive damage to the power grid, we expect that outages from this storm will take considerable time to repair
and many customers will experience an extended, multiple -day outage," Xcel Energy officials said in a statement Wednesday.
And while the dark clouds have moved on, it looks like more rain and lightning is on the way.
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7/6/2016 Power outages could last for days, Xcel Energy warns — Twin Cities
In the Twin Cities, storms are likely to move in during the early -morning hours Thursday, according to the National Weather
Service. The chance for thunderstorms continues during the afternoon, and Thursday evening will see an even greater chance of
storms. There's a slight risk of severe weather in the metro Thursday night.
In St. Paul, firefighters responded to 260 calls on Tuesday, more than double the daily average, said Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard.
About 80 percent of the calls Tuesday night were for downed wires.
"The wind would blow the tree branches violently, sometimes breaking the branches off, and the branches would fall and break
the wires," Zaccard said. "Or tree branches rubbing against the wires would start the branches on fire."
St. Paul firefighters also responded to five instances of trees or branches falling onto homes and a number of false fire alarms
caused by power outages, which are common during electrical storms, Zaccard said. Three fire stations lost power, "but they
were on emergency power and everything was fine," he said.
There were no calls for paramedics for storm -related injuries in St. Paul.
Roseville appeared to be the hardest hit in Ramsey County by last night's storm, according to Judson Freed, director of
emergency management and homeland security for Ramsey County.
The city had more than 65 calls for service and a number of residents without power.
During the peak of the storm, some 36,000 people experienced power outages countywide, Freed said. The number fell to less
than 20,000 earlier this morning and had been falling steadily since.
"We had lots of trees and power lines down, but thankfully... no reports of injuries or deaths thank God," Freed said.
Today, the biggest issue facing residents is cleanup work from downed branches and other debris.
The county's vegetative waste sites are open for anyone looking to haul branches off their properties.
"I believe all the roadways are back open, so we are slowly coming back to normal," Freed said.
Roseville police were busy Tuesday night after roadways near Fairview Avenue and Minnesota 36 flooded, stranding some
drivers.
"Wejust had so much rainfall come down very quickly, unfortunately it caught motorists off -guard," said Lt. Erika Scheider, a
spokesman for the Roseville Police Department.
After the waters receded, officers helped get tow trucks to the scene, Scheider said.
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7/6/2016 Power outages could last for days, Xcel Energy warns — Twin Cities
Nick Ferraro V°°IVII J
@NFerraroPiPress
Several cars stalled under Highway 36 bridge at Fairview
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A house in Maplewood sustained major damage after lightning struck the structure around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Responders reportedly could see flames visible out of the windows when they arrived at the house, at 2595 Pond Avenue East.
Nobody was inside the two-story house at the time, according Maplewood Fire Chief Steve Lu kin.
Lightning struck near the house's gas meter, taking out the electrical panel, Lukin said. The area smoldered a while before
spreading and blowing out the front windows of the home.
The kitchen, living room and two upstairs bedrooms sustained extensive damage, he said.
In Minneapolis, some exterior panels of U.S. Bank Stadium came loose during Tuesday's storms, stadium officials said.
Nothing came off the building, and contractor Mortenson Construction will fix the panels and examine what happened, said
Michele Kelm-Helgren, chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which oversees the stadium.
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7/6/2016 Power outages could last for days, Xcel Energy warns — Twin Cities
She said 10 to 20 of the zinc panels were jostled loose in the storm. It's happened before during severe weather, she said,
though nothing has ever fallen off the building.
"Obviously we don't want that to continue," she said, saying Mortenson is working "to make sure that we have a permanent fix."
The strong winds included 60 -mph gusts clocked at the Crystal Airport and the Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie.
The thunderstorms caused temporary delays at Minneapolis -St. Paul International Airport, but spokesman Pat Hogan said the
airport remained open.
Eastview Recreation Center and Highland Park Community Center will be closed but S'more Fun and field trips at Highland Park
remain as scheduled and private rentals will be contacted by recreation center staff.
Meanwhile, city officials warn residents with downed wires to stay clear of them even if they appear safe. Call 911 to report
downed wires.
And, for those residents needing to hire an electrical contractor, make sure they are reputable by consulting a hist of the state's
lliceinsed contractors. Choose "business" and then select "ELECTRICAL" AND "CLASS A."
To report a downed tree in St. Paul contact (651) 266-8989 or (651) 266-9700. Residents are responsible to have all debris
removed and disposed off from their property. Yard waste can be dropped off at Rairnsey County yard waste coHectloin sites.
And, residents should make sure they use relputalWe tree reirnoval services.
Over the next several days, St. Paul city crews will be out to remove debris from public areas.
This story includes information from the Associated Press and Forum News Service.
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