Power Outage continues for Stevensville's South Side

High winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour on Saturday caused power outages, along with property damage, all over the Town of Stevensville. While crews from NorthWestern Energy have been successful in restoring power to the business districts and neighboring residential areas, residents who live on the south side of the town, especially west of Main Street, continue to go with out power. As of 4:30pm Saturday. officials with NorthWestern Energy tell Town Hall that residents should expect to be with out power for an additional 4-6 hours.

The Town quickly responded to incidents throughout the community Saturday afternoon, clearing debris to make way for power crews to make repairs to lines. Many power lines saw significant damage that will require the replacement of poles, equipment and sections of wire. That work takes time, and there is plenty of it to do. 

In response to the extended power outage, officials at Stevensville Town Hall are opening the facility so that those without power have a warm shelter with power available. In addition, a chili feed has been organized to provide a warm meal to those who cannot cook due to the outage. Coffee and other refreshments are also being served free of charge. "We understand that the outage is an inconvenience," said Stevensville Mayor Brandon Dewey. "Town Hall is open as an opportunity for neighbors to com together and embrace each others company and bring something positive from the stress of today's windy storm." 

The chili feed begins at approximately 5:30pm and will continue into the evening as needed. 

Town staff are also on hand to provide assistance. Those who have questions or need assistance due to the prolonged outage can contact Town Hall directly at 777-5271 or 777-3773. Officials will be contacting those who have been identified to be at-risk as a courtesy check-in.

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UPDATE: Approximately 175 households in the south-western portion of town are still without power as of 9:30pm Saturday. NorthWestern Energy officials tell us several crews are working to restore power, however no time frame for restoration is currently available. Officials at Town Hall will continue to watch the situation into the night and provide updates when they are available.

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