UPDATE: Power restored to 570 customers after brief outage
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UPDATE: Electricity has been restored to the neighborhood surrounding East 25th Street and Barbara Avenue as crews quickly and efficiently isolated a power pole that was damaged in a fire earlier Saturday afternoon.
According to a city statement, “All customers will continue to have power while replacing the pole. Customers on one section were out (of electricity) two minutes, customers on another one minute for switching purposes.”
City of Idaho Falls Public Information Officer Eric Grossarth explained Idaho Falls Power’s linemen crew was able to reroute the lines to bring back the electricity quickly for consumers.
“They call it ‘switches and jumpers,’ and they can reroute the power around a pole to replace that. So they have to shut off (electricity) while they hook those up, and then they can turn it back on for people.”
He advises drivers to drive cautiously, and be aware of line crews working in the area.
ORIGINAL STORY: Power pole fire will result in outage for hundreds
IDAHO FALLS — Idaho Falls Power will be temporarily turning off the electricity for 570 homes and businesses following a fire on a power pole close to East 25th Street and Barbara Avenue.
Idaho Falls Public Information Officer Eric Grossarth said that one fire truck and one power truck have been dispatched to the location. Additionally, an on-call line crew is being brought in to make the repairs.
The initial incident call came in at 3:11 p.m.
Most major traffic lights in the area will continue operating, though some small intersections with lights may be affected. Drivers should respond to non-operating lights by stopping and proceeding as if it were a four-way stop, according to a city news release.
“We appreciate their patience while we get this fixed and will definitely work to get power restored as quickly and safely as possible,” Grossarth said.
EastIdahoNews.com will update this story as additional information becomes available.