We, along with the other cooperatives and utilities served by the lines, waited while those repairs were made. Trees lying across sections of power lines. A few trucks that pulled off the road to repair damaged poles got stuck in mud, and had to radio for help to get them back on the road and in service. Customers also started to report line and pole damage, including lines that were down across intersections and in backyards. Until our entire system was re-energized it was tough to quantify the damage.
Calls continue to clog phone lines, and most customers remain friendly and understanding.
We are short on answers. We can't say when the power will be back on, because at this point the problem is out of our hands. We can't even promise that their power will be restored quickly, particularly if the mounting reports of damage are true. Power to United Power's offices is provided with a generator for a good part of this first day, allowing us to keep accurate outage records for our customers. Calls are made to the media outlining what we know.