Crews Work Through the Night to Clean Up After Storm

The city was left in the dark as heavy winds took out trees and power

Tools

By Heather Hintze
Bio | Email

Story Created: Sep 5, 2012 at 9:30 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Sep 6, 2012 at 7:38 AM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - There was no rest for the weary on Wednesday, as crews worked through the night to clear debris from the windstorm.

“It's all over town. It's probably going to be a few days of work just for our end. We're going to keep at it. We'll be here for a while,” said Terri Johnson, of Anchorage Municipal Light and Power.

Thousands of residents were left in the dark after trees cracked in half or were uprooted onto power lines. One area hit hard by the winds was a mobile home park on 10th and Muldoon.

“It was really scary because we have a glass window in the back, and I was afraid one of these trees was going to fall so we all slept in the living room, all just huddled together on the floor,” said Samantha Lamebull.

The power lines prevented trees from crashing through the roofs, but the weight of the branches toppled the poles.

While students across Anchorage didn’t have to go to class, some kids showed up at Zion Lutheran Preschool to help the pastor remove debris.

“You could hear the popping of the trees and could hear them hitting. The large one up on the hill I heard it snap. Thankfully none of them hit my house,” said Pastor Brant Hoffman.

Being without power gives people a lot of time to thing about the cleanup.

“I'm wondering how am I going to get rid of it and how much is it going to cost me,” said Nell Mitchell, who has live in the same home off Debarr for 27 years. Her neighbor’s tree came crashing through her fence and into her backyard, narrowly missing her house.

As crews get ready to work through a second night, the storm already looks to be a pricey one.

“A pole like this costs a few thousand dollars with the material and the labor. To speculate what this storm is going to cost... we have 12 of our own crews, seven contracted crews and three tree crews; we're drawing material out of our warehouse. It will add up fairly fast,” said Bill Brenier, Line Operations Director for Chugach Electric.

If you see a downed power line, call Chugach Electric at 762-7888.

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

KTVA CBS 11 | Anchorage, Alaska News and Weather and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.