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SALT LAKE CITY — The number of customers without power after a spring snowstorm hit parts of Utah overnight Thursday had dropped significantly by Saturday night.
As of 9 p.m., fewer than 900 customers — down from 19,000 Friday evening — were still being affected by outages in the Salt Lake Valley, according to Rocky Mountain Power’s website.
All remaining outages caused by the storm are expected to be fixed by Sunday afternoon, according to a statement from power company spokesman David Eskelsen.
While crews work to restore power, Salt Lake residents "are encouraged ... to reach out to neighbors who may be impacted, particularly the elderly and those with health issues,” a statement from the Salt Lake City Council said.
Throughout the day, Rocky Mountain Power called in additional crews from central Utah and Idaho to help with power restoration.
“Thank you for your patience as we work to safely restore your service as quickly and as safely as possible,” the power company said in a tweet.
Other outages can be reported via RMP's Utah Outage Map or by texting OUT to 759677. For the latest updates, customers can visit the website or text STAT to the same number.
- Stay away from all downed power and utility lines. Even if the lines are not sparking, they could be energized and extremely dangerous. Call 911 and report the outage to RMP at 1-877-508-5088.
- Don't drive over downed power lines.
- Turn on your porch light. After crews complete repairs, they patrol the area of the power failure to see if any lights are still out.
- Check on your neighbors, especially those who may need special assistance.
- If you have power, keep mobile devices charged so that they may be used in an emergency.
Courtesy: Rocky Mountain Power
Cleaning up debris
The storm also caused several damaged trees in park strips and fallen branches in parts of the city. An Urban Forestry team spent Saturday clearing debris off of cars and homes and blocked roadways.
“It was a perfect timing,” said Tony Gliot, Urban Forestry director for Salt Lake. “Trees were drawing up water and becoming heavy to get ready to put out leaves and buds and flowers, and you add to that a significant amount of heavy, wet snow and this is the breakage we see.”
Gliot told KSL TV his department “will be working on tree damage from this storm for the rest of the year.”
Meanwhile, the city council says residents are responsible for any damaged trees on private property. They can help the cleanup process by:
- Placing smaller branches in brown curbside compost cans
- Piling larger branches on the city's parking strips (between curb and sidewalk) for removal
Contributing: Alex Cabrero, KSL TV
