WASHINGTON CITY — For the third straight Friday, electricity was out in the Buena Vista-Green Spring area of Washington City.
Update 1:45 p.m., Dec. 22: Video added.
St. George News confirmed the electricity went out for many customers in the area around 11:30 a.m. By 1 p.m., it was restored for most customers.
Power also went out in the same area last Friday, on Sunday, Dec. 10 and on Friday, Dec. 8.
Washington City Power has not provided any explanation for the current power outage in the area.
The utility blamed the outage last Friday on a bird strike at the power substation at Main Street and Buena Vista Boulevard. However, as of 12:30 p.m. early Friday afternoon, there was no activity at the same substation.
Employees with the city’s electrical utility have not been available for comment Friday and their offices are closed for the Christmas holiday. People calling in to report an outage received a voicemail to leave a message.
Traffic lights at the intersections of Green Spring Drive and Red Hills Parkway as well as Green Spring and Telegraph Street — some of the busiest in Southern Utah — were out. The traffic lights, being treated like a four-way stop, caused back-ups on the Green Spring off-ramps of Interstate 15. Washington City police officers were controlling traffic at some of the intersections.
The outages caused issues on one of the last shopping days before Christmas with the lights out at the Walmart on Telegraph Street.
Matt Mitchell told St. George News he was shopping at the WalMart in Washington City when the power went out. He said emergency lights came on and shoppers were told to make their way to the open registers that were working. Eventually, management announced that the store needed to be evacuated.
“They said, ‘Leave your cart where it is and go outside,’” Mitchell said.
Workers manned the doors of the Walmart telling frustrated shoppers that the store was closed. The lights came back on around 1 p.m. but the store remained closed as workers tried to get the store operational again. By 1:15 p.m., the store was reopened.
A crowd of holiday shoppers lined up outside in the light rain, building up with people awaiting completing their gift lists.
People reported the power being out not only on Telegraph Street but also in the area along Washington Dam Road down to the intersection with Industrial Park.
Washington City Power posted on its Facebook page that anyone impacted by the outage whose power is not yet restored should call 435-656-6300.
Photo Gallery
Outside Telegraph Street Walmart during power outage, Washington City, Utah, Dec. 22, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Workers at Telegraph Street Walmart man doors to tell shoppers of store closure during power outage, Washington City, Utah, Dec. 22, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Workers at Telegraph Street Walmart man doors to tell shoppers of store closure during power outage, Washington City, Utah, Dec. 22, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Traffic lights are out due to a power outage in Washington City, Utah, Dec. 22, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Traffic lights are out due to a power outage in Washington City, Utah, Dec. 22, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News A power substation shown at Main Street and Buena Vista Blvd. in Washington City, Utah, Dec. 22, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Crowd of holiday shoppers outside Walmart on Telegraph Street awaiting its reopening after a power outage that lasted more than an hour, Washington City, Utah, Dec. 22, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News Traffic lights out at Green Springs Drive and Telegraph Street during power outage, Washington City, Utah, Dec. 22, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
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