BusinessES and homes out by the Nome airport went dark Thursday morning after a state Department of Transportation accident toppled power lines, knocking out electricity, phone lines, and other communications.
As of Friday morning, backup phone lines were being employed, but internet connections and other instruments and communications at agencies like the Weather Service and the Federal Aviation Administration were not fully operational.
A state Department of Transportation spokesperson said a DOT operator was driving a flatbed truck carrying a piece of heavy equipment Thursday around 8:30 a.m. along Doyle Road, just off Prospect Street along the north side of the airport’s eastern edge.
The road roller caught on what DOT called “low-hanging power lines,” pulling the wires and poles to the ground, breaking three electric poles and bending two others.
The outage caused the lights to go out—and the phones and internet to go down—at freight companies like Northern Air Cargo, Ryan Air, and Everts. Regional carriers like Bering Air and Ravn Airlines were also impacted but both airlines say no flights were delayed.
Workers at the Alaska Airlines terminal said the power outage also meant ticketing for the midday flight happened the old-fashioned way—manually, without computers—but the flight made it out of Nome on time; in fact, if took off about 15 minutes early.
By Friday internet service remained down at the National Weather Service, the FAA, and the state–run airport office. Those offices were also operating off their own backup generators and phones, but many instruments and communication equipment remained down.
Road closures along Doyle Road remained in effect Friday morning. Nome Joint Utility Manager John Handeland said Friday morning the utility brought in an extra crew that is now working to install the new power poles (the bent poles have since been straightened). The operation, he said, might not be finished until Saturday.
It’s unknown when internet and other communications will be fully restored. Handeland said internet service providers lease space on the power poles and will not be able to attempt to restore service until after the utility’s installation and repair work is completed.
