Mineral County residents once again faced another power outage early this week as a snowstorm came in and temperatures dropped to freezing levels.

NV Energy experienced a “Pole Fire” on the transmission line that serves the areas around the Rawhide and Scheelite mine. It reports that pole fires are common in the west because of the arid climate, causing insulators to build up dust on them. When it rains, the water and dust combine causing a conductive path to the pole and creating it to ignite. After troubleshooting to identify the location of the fault, NV Energy isolated the issue to the Rawhide/Scheelite line. As a result of the weather conditions and terrain, there were delays in reaching the transmission pole that required replacement. Almost 3,000 customers in the area went without power.

NV Energy also provided these recommendations for how to stay warm and safe in case of a power outage:

How to Prepare for a Power Outage:

  • NV Energy’s outage center and outage alerts are customer’s best source for up-to-date information on the outage cause, number of outages, number of customers impacted, estimated time of restoration, and crew status. Customers can visit its MyAccount webpage to sign up for personalized alerts directed to their mobile phone.
  • Prepare an outage kit with items for emergency situations such as bottled water, flashlights, warm blankets, first-aid kit, extra batteries, ready-to-eat foods, and a manual can opener.
  • – If you own a portable generator, review its safety guidelines.
  • – Learn how to open your garage manually.

What to Do in a Power Outage:

  • The best way to report an outage is through the NV Energy website at nvenergy. com/outage.
  • Keep your refrigerator and freezer closed to ensure food stays as fresh as possible.
  • If you’re cold, put layers of warm clothing on and never burn charcoal for heating or cooking indoors. Charcoal briquettes produce carbon monoxide, which is odorless, colorless, and can be deadly.
  • Never use a generator inside a facility. Generators should be cleaned and tested before use. More generator safety information can be found at https://www.nvenergy.com/safety/generatorsafety.

Last week the Mineral County Independent-News reported that at least 2,500 Mineral County residents lost power on February 15 from 3:30 a.m. to around 11 a.m. Affecting people in Hawthorne within the 89451 zip code the most, the outage caused the Mineral County School District Superintendent to make the call to close all of the schools for the day (which were already on a 2-hour delay due to weather) when the outage lasted longer than expected. After the superintendent made his call, power was restored to the schools by 10am.

As of press time, the February 15 power outage was still under investigation, but a representative from NV Energy told MCIN that it was not due to weather.