The pole that held the cable that was snagged this morning was left leaning after power was restored to White Rock electric customers. Courtesy/LAC

DPU’s Electric Distribution crews followed up on power restoration by straightening the power pole. Courtesy/LAC

COUNTY News:

This morning’s, Aug. 14, power outage in White Rock knocked out electricity for more than 900 customers around 8:30 a.m. and was resolved an hour later.

The outage started when a delivery truck snagged a line on a power pole near Piñon School. While it was initially believed to be a power line that was snagged, Deputy Utility Manager Stephen Marez of the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities (DPU) explained that the line that was caught was actually a telephone cable on the power pole.

This snag shook the pole and the powerlines it was holding enough to knock out electricity immediately.

Marez reminds community members to never approach downed power lines. Power poles hold powerlines and communications lines as well as guy wires and many people do not immediately recognize the differences.

The safest response is to stay away from any downed line and notify the DPU or police dispatch right away:

• DPU 505.662.8333
• Non-emergency dispatch 505.662.8222
• Emergency dispatch 911

DPU can be reached at 505.662.8333 during business hours, by email at CustomerCare@lacnm.us, or in person during business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday at the Los Alamos County Municipal Building. Urgent issues outside of business hours should be directed to 505.662.8222. For general input on any utility topic, community members may submit an online form at ladpu.com/feedback.