The power is finally back on across much of southern Carbon County after lightning hit a power substation and left about 5,600 Rocky Mountain Power customers without electricity for more than 16 hours Sunday and Monday.
The outage closed many businesses, affected traffic signals and gave kids in Rawlins a bonus day off from school.
It was at 7:07 p.m. Sunday when a storm moving through the region knocked out power across southcentral Wyoming, triggering a targeted response from the Rawlins Police Department, with public works crews placing four-way stop signs at intersections normally regulated by traffic lights.
Monday morning, the city remained without power and Police Chief Michael Ward awoke ready to take on any challenges brought on by the blackout.
First, he needed some coffee.
"For about three seconds this morning, as I was getting ready, I was worried about coffee — way down on my list. But the thought occurred to me,” Ward told Cowboy State Daily about facing the notion of not getting some hot coffee.
Ward said he then remembered his office, the hospital and other important buildings around Rawlins are outfitted with backup generators.
“It's a police station, so I could get coffee at work,” said Ward, laughing at how quickly others in Rawlins recognized that without electricity, coffee drinkers have a harder time securing their morning cups.
"I heard a rumor that our children were setting up coffee stands like lemonade stands around town," Ward said. "And they must live in houses that have generators. So, they're making coffee for people to purchase.”
Elizabeth Estrada posted on Facebook photos of two children selling coffee for $2 a cup, while April Martinez posted, “We own three generators, two camping coffee pots, and more solar battery boxes than I can count … but do I have any of them in town? Nope. Just one generator that refuses to start.”
She added, “I’m trying to stay positive, but honestly — no coffee might be the thing that breaks me today.”
Lightning Strike
Rocky Mountain Power spokesman David Eskelsen said the outage originated from a lightning strike at the Platte substation, located about a mile north of Sinclair where a lightning arrestor was hit.
"It's designed to dissipate a direct strike," Eskelsen said, adding that this particular strike overwhelmed the protection system.
"When they isolated the lightning arrestor to restore power, several fuses on the main transformer blew, indicating another problem," he said.
The damage cascaded through the electrical grid, affecting other substations, he said.
Crews worked through the night to restore power, and Eskelsen said the company was targeting an 11:30 a.m. restoration time.
"They've got the transformer returned to service, but then they have to bring probably the number of customers back in stages again. Probably can't take them all at once," he explained.
On cue, power returned just before 11:30 a.m. Monday in Rawlins.
Rawlins Ready
Rawlins resident Cortney Yates, who works in corporate sales for Union Wireless, said she didn’t think Sunday night’s storm offered much to worry about.
"We've had much harder, stronger storms without losing power," Yates said.
The outage affected the start of the second week of school for local students, which was delayed and eventually canceled for the day as power restoration times kept getting pushed back.
Yates needed to get her son to Casper so he could catch a flight. On the way out of town, she passed through intersections with the emergency four-way stop signs, and carried on with her plans for the day, just as the local police chief predicted.
"Rawlins is very used to things like the highway being closed in the winter and things like that. So, the residents who live here just kind of roll with these kinds of things," said Chief Ward. "Usually, the people that are not used to things impacting Rawlins are people that are traveling through.
“I would imagine people passing through trying to get gas are going to have to continue on and hope they find someplace with gas before they run out, or they're going to have to wait until the power comes back.”
Edison's Legacy
Perhaps fittingly for a town experiencing electrical problems, Ward recalled Rawlins' legendary connection to Thomas Edison and the invention of the light bulb.
According to local lore, Edison was visiting Rawlins for an eclipse in 1878 and went fishing in the Sierra Madre Mountains south of town.
"One of his fishing poles broke. It was made out of bamboo. He threw it in the fire and saw a fiber of the bamboo glowing. And that's where he got the idea," Ward recounted. "I think that story is not 100% accurate, but it's a pretty good story."
Power Restoration
By around 10:30 a.m. Monday, the lights were back on in Saratoga and Encampment, according to the Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce.
In Sinclair, power returned to Leigh Nation’s home at 11:23 a.m. The night before, Nation worried about hail and heavy rain damaging her garden.
“The thunder and the lightning seemed to last a very long time,” Nation told Cowboy State Daily. “It was sort of overwhelming.”
Then, when the sun rose Monday, Nation exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Everything is fine. The sunflowers are good,” she said. “I think a squirrel came in and ate the top off one of my sunflowers, but I think that's a normal hazard around here.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
