Northern county residents lose power Monday morning

    About 2,500 residents of Washington County were without power for just under two hours early Monday morning. Alliant Energy spokesperson Ryan Stensland said the power outage affected customers in Kalona, Richmond and Riverside, and that it lasted from about 5:30 a.m. to 7:15 a.m.

    According to Stensland, the outage was caused by a lightning bolt that struck a transmission pole between Kalona and Riverside. Electrical crews scrambled to make the necessary repairs to the pole, which was badly damaged.

    ?The lightning bolt burned the top of the pole off,? said Stensland.

     He said he was not aware of any major problems caused by the outage. He said it was fortunate the outage lasted less than two hours and that it occurred before most businesses open their doors.

    ?The employees of businesses without power might have been coming in to work at 8 a.m. and seen the lights on their clocks were blinking, but the power was back on by then,? said Stensland.

    Stensland said that refrigerators and freezers should be kept closed during a power outage to prevent them from losing their cool.

    ?One positive thing about the outage happening early is that no one was around, so it kept the coolers closed,? he said.

    Stensland said that two hours is a short length of time for power to be out so residents don?t have to worry too much about refrigeration. He said four to six hours without power is worrisome, however. Under those circumstances, Alliant would contact its customers through cell phones to advise them how to stay safe. 

    Power outages are caused mostly by inclement weather, said Stensland, and the outage Monday was no exception.

For the full story, see the Aug. 9 edition of The Washington Evening Journal