Wind blows crane cable into power lines, causing major power outages in Sugar House
Aug 1, 2023, 5:51 PM | Updated: 10:23 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — Thousands of Sugar House residents were without power for hours due to a construction accident Tuesday afternoon.
At approximately 5:30 p.m., Salt Lake City police shut down traffic on 2100 South and 900 East as a crane was pushed into nearby power lines, knocking the lines out.
“Dang gusty winds,” said Robert Athey, a resident checking out the damages.
Athey was one of over 12,000 Rocky Mountain Power customers who lost their power when the accident happened.
“Yeah, I have nothing better to do than watch this until the power comes back on, right?” he said.
Salt Lake City firefighters said the weather is the culprit that caused this major snag.
“As they were moving, getting ready to lift the load, (the) wind picked up, (and) saung the crane around,” said Ryan Mellor, Salt Lake City Fire Battalion Chief. “The crane cable hit the wires across the street, and unfortunately, these wires are heavy-duty.”
Mellor said when one of those lines is down, it affects everyone in the area and takes time.
“Based on the weather and the call volume that everybody’s getting right now. It’s going to be a little while,” he said.
As of Tuesday evening, only 900 customers were without power. For the latest updates, you can check out the RMP website.
