Violent winds continue to rip through the Mat-Su Borough for the third straight day. The valley is covered in branches, downed trees, broken powerlines and overturned semitrucks. Tens of thousands of homes are without power and massive snow berms have made several main roads impassible. Most traffic lights from Palmer to Wasilla were not in proper working order throughout the weekend and into Monday.
Many area homes and businesses have suffered from extensive damage. The KFC restaurant in Wasilla was ripped down to the studs.
As of Monday morning, high wind warnings from the National Weather Service remained in effect until at least 6 p.m. with steady winds of 40 to 50 mph and gusts of up to 80 mph. The wind chill factor is expected to be at 15 to 30 below zero.
On Monday, the core of the storm shifted from Palmer and the interchange of the Parks/Glenn highway to the Wasilla area.
Throughout the storm linemen from Matanuska Electric Association have braved dangerous conditions, working around the clock in an attempt to restore power to tens of thousands of homes. As of Monday morning, MTA reported that 18,000 homes were still out, but that number was in constant flux.
“We’re getting a lot of messages asking for a specific time power will be restored,” MEA stated on its Facebook page Monday. “We unfortunately can’t provide these specifics right now because we simply don’t have them. Crews are removing trees and making repairs and sometimes when they attempt to turn the power back on, it’s revealed that there’s more damage down the line. So, with the wind continuing to cause damage even as they’re making repairs on existing damage, it makes it impossible to give a timeframe.”
MEA noted that many homes have been without power since Saturday. On Sunday evening 22,000 homes were in the dark.
“Our guys in the field and in dispatch are working at full speed to try and get everyone on,” the company said. “So, thank you for hanging in there with us – we appreciate you very much and urge you to utilize the shelters if it’s getting too chilly at your home.”
MEA cautioned residents to be alert when venturing outside, as there are lots of downed power lines.
Those affected by continuing power outages can seek shelter at several temporary shelters operated by Red Cross of Alaska.
— Menard Sports Center (1001 S Clapp St, Wasilla)
— Mat-Su Senior Services Center (1132 S Chugach St, Palmer)
11 Comments
The few People need to stop using facebook. Most people no longer have access to facebook content. Its no longer a practical tool.
exactly. I haven’t had fakebook in years. I don’t like when businesses only use it so you can see their hours, menus etc. or when articles include videos like the above that you can’t watch or read without “logging in”. FB doesn’t deserve anyones precious time.
I’ll second that. Its ridiculous that most to all of the information out there is only on Facebook.
Agree! I don’t use Facebook.
Jen,
I 100 percent agree with you. I stopped using Facebook years ago, so any one who uses it as their web site are losing traffic/people without access to it, and the exodus will continue from that platform as it promotes leftist ideology and censorship of free speech. While funding election theft.
God Bless theses line workers, for getting out there in the cold and at 2 am in the morning to keep the lights on and our homes warm
YES. my hats off to them. very thankful for their hard work and dedication to get my power on in a timely manner. my heart goes out to all those still waiting. hang in there folks.
And the article should say MEA not MTA.
I must doff to Joel for calling our attention to the plight of those affected by the winter storm–the high winds, sub-zero temperatures, the damage to homes and businesses, the disruption of family life….the dedication of the MTA linemen and the workers at the emergency shelters.
My hat is off to you, Joel!
Correction: MEA!!!
Thank you. I caught that as well