News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
According to Jim Crowell, member services director with Central Electric Cooperative, crews arrived on scene at about 7:30 pm.
The failed cable, possibly a spur line leading to the BP gas station at Threewind, caused a fire in a switch on the McKenzie Highway, Crowell said. This extended the power outage to an estimated 250 accounts, both large commercial and residential.
Robin Davis, manager at Ray's Food Place, said the outage was an inconvenience, forcing the store to use a back up generator, pull meat from the case, move ice cream and postpone regular maintenance.
At the same time, Davis appreciated CEC dropping a special power feed to bring the store back on line and prevent greater damage before the cable was repaired.
Crowell said the failure and fire kept power off to south Sisters until about 9:15 p.m.
Threewind and some of the McKenzie area did not have power again until about 1 a.m.
Crowell said CEC crews were replacing the McKenzie Highway switch and would probably inject a special insulating compound into the underground cable to reduce the likelihood of a similar failure.
Reader Comments(0)