Residents of North Salt Lake housing community frustrated after days with no power

UPDATE: Kevin Duke, the resident in this story, told KSL TV his power had been restored as of 11:15 p.m. Thursday. The original story follows below.

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NORTH SALT LAKE, Utah — Residents of a housing community said Thursday they had been without power for more than two days due to an issue potentially affecting dozens of units in the neighborhood and they feared no solution was in sight.

Kevin Duke, who uses a CPAP machine for oxygen due to some health issues, said he was awakened before 3:00 a.m. Tuesday morning with a disconcerting feeling.

“All of a sudden I woke up feeling like I was drowning,” Duke said in an interview with KSL TV.

He said he soon discovered the power was out and it was still not restored as of Thursday night for numerous residents of the Camelot community, 655 N. Highway 89.

“You can feel how hot it is in here without the air conditioning,” Duke said as he sat next to his wife, Peggy. “We have a fridge and a freezer full of spoiled food.”

Duke said he was concerned what the outage meant potentially for his health and the health of his wife.

“Both of us sleep with oxygen on,” Duke said. “Right now, we’re not getting the power that we need to survive.”

The couple said they borrowed a generator to help keep their CPAP machines on for now, but they were uncertain when the power was going to be restored.

A notice left on their front door earlier Thursday didn’t offer many answers.

“As I am sure you are aware, due to the heavy rain and winds, electrical power service in parts of the community has been disrupted,” stated the notice from the community manager. “We are actively working with Rocky Mountain Power and electrical contractors to restore power as quickly as possible.”

The notice also stated that the community would provide food and water from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. for residents affected by the service interruption.

“There are people that are probably between 10 and 20, maybe even 30 years older than we are that have no power right now, no air conditioning,” said Duke.

KSL attempted to reach community managers for a response. After being told someone would be responding Thursday evening, no call or message arrived as of late Thursday evening.

Trucks belonging to an energy and infrastructure contractor were visible near the entrance Thursday night and crews appeared to be at work.

An additional attempt to reach Rocky Mountain Power for further clarity on the situation also did not result in an immediate response.

“It is very frustrating and we’re very disappointed,” Duke said.

He said he believed the problem should have been resolved already and that he hoped something would change sooner rather than later.

“We’ve basically had to do every single thing (ourselves),” Duke said. “We need this problem taken care of as soon as possible.”