By Stephen Tool, MCIN Staff
An approximately three-hour power outage struck parts of Mineral County and surrounding areas affecting about 2400 homes. A spokesperson for NV Energy (Nevada Energy) said the cause was a malfunctioning breaker switch at the Fort Churchill Power Station.
“I was at home when the power went off,” says Sheriff Stewart Handte. “I thought it was a little odd since we hadn’t had a major windstorm or anything.”
Handte immediately called up dispatch and was informed power was out all over the county. Handte came down to the office to help answer phones.
Walker Lake was without power, Hawthorne, Mina and Luning were without power, but Schurz had power. I guess they’re on a different grid.”
A member of the Mineral County Search and Rescue said they were called in to temporarily direct Hawthorne traffic as stoplights were also affected by the outage.
NV Energy originally estimated power could be out as long as 24 hours if not longer. Out of concern for senior citizens who need monitoring Handte’s crew started to form a plan to check on seniors. Power resumed before any action was taken.
