JOYCE — An unexpected power outage left Joyce-area residents without power for 13 hours on Friday — and another is planned to begin at midnight on Saturday.
The Clallam County Public Utility District had notified its Joyce-area customers by mail weeks ago of the planned outage that will allow crews to work on a power substation.
Electricity is expected to be restored by 6 a.m. Sunday morning.
Friday’s outage was caused by a tree falling onto a power line in the backcountry northwest of Lake Crescent, said Dave Proebstel, the PUD’s chief engineer.
About 530 customers lost power at 3:45 a.m.
It took crews hours to find the broken line.
They initially looked from utility trucks, then surveyed power lines by helicopter.
The break was spotted from the air in the early afternoon and power was restored at 5:07 p.m.
“It’s unfortunate timing, because we’re scheduled to have people off line at midnight Saturday,” Proebstel said.
“Had we known (in advance of Friday’s outage), of course we would have gathered our contractor and done the work then.”
