MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP — Strong winds cause widespread power outages Sunday and continued to affect members of Firelands Electric Cooperative on Monday morning, the company has reported.
Wing gusts exceeding 67 mph damaged trees and power lines, which caused scattered outages for around 1,200 electric member-consumers located in Ashland, Richland and Huron counties. Most of the power outages were single instances involving tree damage.
It was reported yesterday at 5:20 p.m. that Ohio Electric Cooperatives were managing 13,000 outages across the Buckeye state, and some cooperatives were asking for assistance with their restoration efforts.
Firelands Electric’s line crews worked throughout the night and were able to assess the damage. As of 7:15 a.m., they were able to restore power to much of the cooperative’s service territory, with 110 outages remaining in Ashland and Richland counties.
Crews reported heavy line damage in the Yacht Point and Shore Drive areas at Charles Mill, due to broken poles. There is also an area near Mifflin where a skid steer with tracks is needed for pole replacement. Firelands Electric is currently utilizing a contractor, LineTec Services, to assist the cooperative with repairing the damage.
“Please keep our operations employees in your prayers as they toil to get lines repaired and power restored today. They have a long day ahead, working in some unfriendly terrain,” said Firelands’ General Manager Dan McNaull. “We will be giving 100 percent effort to get all remaining outages restored as safely and quickly as possible.
As a reminder, please use extreme caution while traveling during and after storms. Notify Firelands Electric of any down power lines within the cooperative’s service territory by contacting 1-800-533-8658. Outage updates are available at Firelands Electric’s website, www.firelandsec.com.
Stay connected with Firelands Electric Cooperative through its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/FirelandsElectric, and Twitter feed, twitter.com/Firelands.
