1,300 Kenai Peninsula homes still without power

As of 6:30 a.m., an estimated 1,300 homes on the Kenai Peninsula are still without power, according to the Homer Electric Association. Among the areas where power was restored: Nikiski High School and North Star Elementary, which were both closed Wednesday when the power went off. Classes resume today.

"It is difficult to provide an exact time when power will be restored to a specific area," said a statement from the utility issued early this morning, "but due to the damage and the number of existing outages it is very likely restoration work will continue throughout Thursday evening and possibly Friday."

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Original story:

Crews were working to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses on the Kenai Peninsula after strong winds left broken poles and downed wires across the region. The electric utility said it could be today or even Friday before power is completely restored.

Meanwhile, power was also out for many late Wednesday in the Willow area of the Susitna Valley.

On the Peninsula, an emergency shelter was set up at the Alaska Army National Guard Armory in Kenai, according to Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Additional warming stations were established at fire stations in Kenai and Nikiski. For more info call 907-714-2484.

Electricity was out for more than 3,000 customers on the Peninsula as of 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, according to Homer Electric Association. Outages affected homes and businesses in Nikiski, Kenai, Soldotna, Kasilof, Sterling and Funny River, the utility said. Earlier, as many as 5,000 customers had lost power.

"The storm has left a lot of damage in its path, with reports of broken poles and downed wire coming in from across the central Peninsula," said HEA spokesman Joe Gallagher in a written statement. "It is difficult to provide a specific time when power will be restored to a specific area, but it is very likely that outages will continue throughout the evening and into Thursday and possibly Friday."

To report an outage call 1-888-868-8243.

The utility called in outside crews to deal with wind damage to power poles and lines, Gallagher said.

A prolonged outage Wednesday also affected the entire community of Hope, with about 200 power customers at its peak in the summer, according to Chugach Electric Association. It was still windy enough during the day Wednesday to keep linemen from dealing with downed lines, so Chugach planned to truck a generator to Hope, said company spokeswoman Sarah Wiggers.

To the north, an outage struck late Wednesday for about 4,000 customers between Willow and Talkeetna, according to Matanuska Electric Association spokesman Wes Lindsey.

"We got a report that a large tree fell across a span of line in Willow," Lindsey said.

Crews were working to remove the tree and replace the power line just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, Lindsey said. They expected to have power restored within an hour or so, but Lindsey said strong wind still in the weather forecast could cause more trouble.

That outage came hours after crews restored power to about 1,300 customers in the Chugiak and Peters Creek areas, Lindsey said.

Wind gusts of between 50 mph and 70 mph also knocked out power in several Anchorage neighborhoods.

Power was restored to most Anchorage customers early Wednesday, according to Municipal Light and Power and Chugach Electric.

This story was reported by the Daily News reporter Casey Grove and the Associated Press.