At 4:08 p.m. today, 526 customers of La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) in the Pagosa Lakes area of Archuleta County lost power in the midst of a severe lightning storm.
Working steadily, crews isolated what ended up to be an underground fault, likely caused by a lightning surge through the cable, and restored power to all but 18 in the Ruby Court area at 6:07 p.m. Unfortunately, unexpected damage to the line had occurred, requiring the circuit to be reopened shortly thereafter for the line crews to work safely on repairs, and power was again cut to 446 customers.
LPEA crews repaired the damaged equipment, and safely re-energized the line at 8:32 p.m., restoring power to all customers.
