Transformer fire cuts power in Libby, Troy
Sam Wilson | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 5 months AGO
More than 3,000 electricity customers in the Libby and Troy area lost power on Tuesday after a transformer at the Troy substation caught fire.
Elissa Glassman, a spokeswoman for Idaho-based utility Northern Lights, Inc., said the small electric fire was sparked by a bird.
The outage affected about 1,500 of the utility’s customers in Troy and farther north.
Crews from the Bonneville Power Administration responded to the incident, according to district manager Mike McCracken.
Flathead Electric Cooperative spokeswoman Wendy Ostrom Price said the outage affected more than 1,500 of the utility’s customers, mainly in Libby. The outage started around 11:45 a.m. and the utility had restored power in Libby by the afternoon.
However, that power restoration caused a fuse to blow, causing a secondary outage that cut electricity to 143 members.
MORE IMPORTED STORIES
ARTICLES BY SAM WILSON
Filmmakers fined $5,950 for bull trout violations
The owners of a Missoula-based film company were recently issued 38 state and 11 federal citations for violating bull trout regulations and filming illegally in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Hatchery objects to Creston bottling plant
In a formal objection filed earlier this month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service challenged the Montana Department of Natural Resources’ determination that a proposed water bottling plant in Creston would not adversely affect the nearby fish hatchery.
Panel opposes shooting-range plan
At a packed hearing Thursday night to consider a proposed shooting range near Echo Lake, the Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee voted unanimously in opposition to the proposal after local residents criticized its potential safety, noise and environmental impacts.