The snowstorm passing through Sweetwater County early Tuesday morning resulted in power outages in Green River, as well as lead to road closures and travel advisories issued throughout the state.
According to Rocky Mountain Power, more than 12,000 customers in Wyoming, most of whom living in Sweetwater and Uinta counties, were without power Tuesday afternoon. A release from Rocky Mountain Power states winds exceeding 110 mph in some areas were recorded and impacted service Idaho and Utah as well, with approximately 170,000 customers without power in Utah.
Tiffany Erickson, a spokesperson for Rocky Mountain Power, said the outages were caused by several issues related to the wind, including downed power lines and trees falling on power lines.
“There’s a number of things,” she said. “These winds have been so powerful.”
Erickson said the company advised customers to prepare for extended outages because some issues were too dangerous for crews to address until the wind speeds decrease. However, despite that, Erickson described RMP’s response as “all hands on deck” with additional crews being called in to work.
Erickson also warned residents not to approach areas where trees have fallen into the power lines or places where power lines had fallen, encouraging them to report the issue to RMP.
Tuesday morning hearings at the Sweetwater County Courthouse were postponed because of the power outage. Teresa Thybo, chief deputy Sweetwater County Attorney, said she had to attend Treatment Court hearings virtually, using her phone while inside her car. Multiple residents interviewed by the Star reported their homes being cold, but otherwise doing well despite the power outage. However, the wind hasn’t only impacted electrical service in the area.
“There has been some closures and they’re expecting (the weather) to last for two days,” Stephanie Harsha, public involvement specialist for the Wyoming Department of Transportation said.
“Our crews were ready for the storm, but there were a lot of closures,” she said.
Interstate 80 from Rock Springs to Cheyenne was closed in both directions Tuesday
She said the main problem is when a road has an accumulation of snow, along with high winds, WYDOT has difficulties keeping snow off the road because it blow back on from surrounding areas.
Many WYDOT roads didn’t have a estimated opening time, which Harsha said meant the closure was due to wind.
“This weather is wild, but it’s Wyoming,” Harsha said.
According to a release from the city, 5 inches of snow fell in the Green River area throughout the night and the city closed non-essential departments Tuesday.
The Green River Fire Department responded to 25 calls during the two-day period while the city’s police department dealt with several emergency calls.
The city has opened the rodeo grounds to allow residents to dump fallen trees and branches. According to the release, the city will establish additional cleanup plans in the coming days.
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