Winds cause multiple power outages

Published 12:47 pm Thursday, September 8, 2022

Strong winds toppled trees and snapped limbs, leading to multiple power outages affecting Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative members on Wednesday afternoon and evening, Sept. 7.

The longest outage, affecting about 48 members in Sumpter, lasted from around 5 p.m. Wednesday until power was restored at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8, said Joe Hathaway, OTEC’s communications manager.

Wind felled a tree outside OTEC’s right-of-way, and the tree knocked down three power poles just outside Sumpter, Hathaway said.

An OTEC crew worked through the night to repair the damage and restore power, he said.

A wind gauge along Highway 7 near the Sumpter junction measured gusts up to 28 mph Wednesday afternoon. Hathaway said an apparent microburst from a thunderstorm downed the tree that hit the power poles.

The biggest outage, lasting about 90 minutes, affected about 380 members in North Powder. Power was restored to most of those customers at 5:10 p.m. Wednesday, and to all of them by 7 p.m.

Hathaway said strong winds caused power lines to touch, causing the outage.

A weather station along Interstate 84 at North Powder measured a peak gust of 45 p.m. at 3:15 p.m.

Wind also snapped a tree limb near the A Frame RV park on North Cedar Street in Baker City, causing an outage in that area. Power was restored by 7 p.m.

The Baker City Airport recorded multiple gusts over 35 mph between 3:20 p.m. and 4:45 p.m., with a peak gust of 52 mph at 4:31 p.m.