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March 29, 2024 3:53 am
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Heavy Winds Cause Power Outage

By Vernon Robison
Moapa Valley Progress


Overton Power District crews worked on Thursday, February 14 to replace a power pole which had been downed by a severe wind storm that took place on the night before.

The Moapa Valley was hammered by severe northwest winds on Wednesday, February 13. The storm knocked out power, blew down trees and sent thick clouds of dust into the air bringing nearly zero visibility to traffic on the I-15 and to local roads. Wind speeds in the region which had been picking up throughout the afternoon reached approximate gusts of 60 mph in the evening; and were probably even higher at locations atop the Mormon Mesa along the Interstate, according to the National Weather Service.

Large cottonwood trees south of Overton were uprooted in the windstorm on the evening of Wednesday, February 13.

The wind knocked out power to a large portion of the Overton Power District (OPD) service area. The outage affected all of the residents of Logandale and Overton, as well as those of Mesquite and Bunkerville in the Virgin Valley. “We had about 12,000 power meters off in the outage, including both homes and businesses,” said Richard Jones of Overton Power. “All together, there were about 30,000 people total in our service area that were affected.” Power service remained uninterrupted in the Glendale/Moapa area.

The outage was caused by the failure of a tension wire on a large power transmission structure out on the Mormon Mesa, according to Jones. “One of the wires that maintains tension and keeps the pole in place failed up there,” he said. “When that happens, it falls against the structure and shorts it out.”

Jones explained that this tripped a relay which immediately showed up on OPD monitoring equipment letting crews know exactly where the fault in the transmission line was. “We were able to get crews right to the spot,” he said.

A trampoline in the backyard of a Logandale resident was blown over a block wall, across the street and onto a neighbors car in Wednesday's heavy windstorm.

The outage occurred at about 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday night. OPD crews rushed to the scene and performed a quick repair to the structure. Power was restored to Overton and Logandale residents within an hour. Mesquite and Bunkerville customers were back online about ten minutes later, Jones said. Crews returned to the location the following morning to perform more permanent repairs to the structure.

OPD crews were out bright and early on Thursday morning inspecting lines and assessing other damage. “A couple of big cottonwood trees were brought down in places south of Overton,” Jones said. “We had crews out cleaning some of that up and clearing out around the power lines.”

In addition, the wind caused damage to a few isolated power poles in the area. “Power to Echo Bay customers was still off until 8:30 p.m. because we had a cross-arm down on one of the poles,” Jones said. “But we had power back to everyone by about 9:00.”

The high winds blew thick clouds of dust into the air. This mixed with rainy conditions made driving in the area perilous. “It is raining mud!” exclaimed one resident who was hurrying to shelter in downtown Overton. “You can’t even see five feet in front of you when you are driving.”

No traffic accidents were reported in the Moapa Valley. One accident was reported on the I-15 at the Logandale/Overton off ramp where a semi-truck heading northbound went into a fish-tail and turned over onto its side. The high winds appeared to be a big factor in the accident, police said.

No injuries to local residents caused by the storm were reported, though there was some damage to personal property that hadn’t been bolted to the ground.

One resident of Logandale reported that a trampoline in his backyard came loose and was picked up by the wind and blown over a six-foot high block wall, across the street into a neighbors driveway where it smashed a car window. Other local residents reported the loss of sheds and awnings to the high winds.

Local insurance agent, Karen Alsum reported that her office was busy fielding calls from local residents making insurance claims in the days following the storm. “Most of the calls are people who have had roof tiles blown loose,” Alsum said. “But we also had people’s awnings and sheds come loose and blow over their house.”

Alsum also expressed appreciation that the power service was restored so quickly. “The Overton Power District crews do such a great job of minimizing our power outages,” she said. “It really makes the impact of storms like this so much less for us here in the community.”

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