RUSHMORE -- About 60 households in four Nobles County townships are without electricity, and they may not get it back until Saturday if weather conditions keep crews off the job today.
Dan Fauskee of Nobles Cooperative Electric said rural homes in portions of Little Rock, Ransom, Dewald and Olney townships are impacted as a result of downed power lines. Some residents had been without power beginning as early as 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Crews worked on lines throughout the county -- including a call that came in at 2:58 a.m. four miles north of Brewster -- but had to be pulled in at 2:30 p.m. Thursday because blizzard conditions were making it unsafe and nearly impossible for them to work.
"It was just getting too dangerous out there," said Fauskee, the cooperative's accountant who was manning the phones at the local office. He said the lines will be repaired "whenever weather conditions become favorable," and plows are operating on the rural roads.
Fauskee said wind and ice were the culprits that caused the power wires to "burn down."
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Rick Burud, general manager of Federated Rural Electric Association offices in Nobles, Jackson and Martin counties, said Thursday evening that crews have been going 24 hours since Wednesday evening. As of 6:30 p.m., he thought all Jackson County customers had power, with about 50 homes in Martin County, northeast of Fairmont, still without electricity.
"Right now, we've got a truck in the ditch in the middle of nowhere," said Burud, adding that they were working to get all of the line workers back in and rested up, so they could go back out this morning, weather permitting.
