Lights Out in Teton Village
Teton Village remains without power and a state of emergency has been declared after 17 75-foot-tall steel transmission towers toppled Tuesday night, due to high winds. Gusts as high as 75 mph were clocked at the top of the Aerial Tram on Tuesday evening. According to Lower Valley Energy, transmission lines feed power to substations, which then distribute it to customers. When the transmission system fails, the line must be entirely repaired instead of just rerouting power.
Five neighboring utility companies — High Plains Power, Idaho Falls Power, Fall River Rural Electric, Bonneville Power and Wasatch Energy, along with the crews from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort — are assisting with manpower and equipment. Despite the tremendous effort, it could take five to seven days to restore power to Teton Village, according to Lower Valley Energy spokesman Brian Tanabe. Crews have started to set wooden poles in place of the broken steel towers. It’s a temporary fix, though, until new steel transmission lines can be installed this summer.
In addition to the power outage, other problems include stormy weather, treacherous roadway conditions and avalanche and flooding risks that have prompted several road closures. Hotels in the Village emptied Wednesday, and Jackson lodges said they were quickly filled with evacuees. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is working with a skeleton crew, spokeswoman Anna Cole said. Ski patrol went on the mountain on Wednesday to check for downed trees and make sure none of the lifts were damaged.
The ski resort will not operate through the weekend. All events, including a skijoring contest and the Wyoming Special Olympics alpine events, have been canceled.
For updates, please visit Jackson Hole News and Guide
