Sheriff: ‘Planned Power Outage Went Well’
Pinedale, Daniel, Boulder and Cora go dark for 5 hours
October 4, 2005
The planned Pacific Power overnight power outage on Sunday went "very well", according to Sublette County Sheriff Bardy Bardin. There were no reports of incidents of people taking advantage of the outage to commit crimes.
The power company needed to turn off the power to do upgrade work to the Pinedale Substation. Electricity was off from 10 pm Sunday night until 3 am Monday morning, October 2-3, which affected customers in Pinedale, Daniel, Cora and Boulder.
One local teenager remarked how ‘cool’ the power outage was with everything dark in Pinedale, "except there were cops EVERYWHERE!" The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) had extra patrol personnel on the streets throughout the county, plus additional communications staff officers. Six SCSO people volunteered their time to assist with the extra patrol duty across the county for the five hours during the blackout.
"The entire event went very well, just due to their presence," said Bardin. They had one arrest during the night, but it was not related to the outage. Bardin said the SCSO received a lot of good comments from businesses in Pinedale and the outlying areas regarding patrol coverage for the blackout.
Many people simply went to bed after 10 pm when the power went off. Some businesses had generators so they could continue to operate. Two of the local Pinedale bars closed. The Corral Bar stayed open with their own generator power. Bob Rule, owner of Pinedale’s KPIN 101.1 FM radio, set up a generator and broadcast live through the night for night-owl listeners. The blackout did not extend to Big Piney or Marbleton in south Sublette County.
People were out during the blackout, but the Sheriff’s Office patrol officers didn’t encounter any problems. "When they spotted people with their lights, everyone waved back," said Sheriff Bardin.
Related Links:
Sublette County Sheriff's Office
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