Nearly 900 still without power after Thursday storm

SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly 900 homes and businesses still had no electricity late Saturday after a Thursday night storm hit the Wasatch Front, causing havoc for Rocky Mountain Power.

More than 19,000 customers lost power as a result of the storm, according to the company.

Around 700 customers were without power in the Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake neighborhoods late Saturday. The company said crews were working around the clock to restore powers to the affected areas.

"The company estimates all remaining customers will be restored Sunday. The company is targeting early Sunday afternoon for completing all repairs," Rocky Mountain Power said in a statement. "The company again thanks customers for their patience during the time it takes to fully restore power after severe weather caused power outages."

Rocky Mountain Power offered residents without power safety advice:

• Stay away from all downed power lines and utility lines. Even if the lines are not sparking, they could be energized and extremely dangerous.
• Call 911 and report the outage to Rocky Mountain Power at 1?877?508?5088.
• Don't drive over downed power lines.
• Turn on your porch light. After crews complete repairs, they patrol the area of the power failure to see if any lights are still out.
• Check on your neighbors, especially those who may need special assistance. Also, check with others who have electricity, to see if you can visit.
• If you have power at this time, keep mobile devices charged so that may be used in an emergency.

To report an outage to Rocky Mountain Power, call 1?877?508?5088 or text "OUT" to 759677. Text "STAT" to 759677 to check the status of an outage.

Clearing debris

Another result of the storm were fallen trees and broken branches scattered across the Salt Lake area.

Salt Lake City's Urban Forestry team continued to clean up damaged trees in park strips and fallen tree limbs Saturday, according to a Salt Lake City Council news release.

The team focused on clearing trees and branches that fell on cars and homes, had blocked roadways or driveways, or were large split branches over roads.

Non-emergency branch removal and street-by-street sweeps for debris began Saturday, after priority removal was completed.

The city noted that residents are responsible for damaged trees on private property.

The city encouraged residents to help crews by putting smaller branches in their brown compost bins and piling larger branches on city park strips for removal.

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