Power outage shuts down Spit, other areas

 

An electrical equipment failure shut down power from the Safeway grocery store on the Sterling Highway to the end of the Homer Spit on Monday afternoon. Power was out from about 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday.

Related to the outage, Harbormaster Bryan Hawkins ordered an evacuation of the Fish Dock Road area about noon after Kevin Hogan of the Auction Block notified Hawkins that there might be a carbon dioxide leak in his refrigeration plant. The loss of power caused a pressure build up in the unit, Hawkins said.

Hawkins ordered evacuation of a 200-foot radius downwind of the Auction Block, including the fuel dock, the fish dock, and Fish Dock and Ice Dock roads. Harbor officers blocked roads into the area and fire department staff were on scene monitoring the situation. Boats could still enter and leave the harbor. The Pioneer Dock and Land’s End Resort were not evacuated.

The outage affected customers along the Sterling Highway from Safeway to the Spit, on Lake Street and in the Ocean Drive area. Power also was out across Kachemak Bay from Tutka Bay to Halibut Cove, said Homer Electric Association spokesman Joe Gallagher.

A failure in a junction box at Elderberry Street and Mountainview Avenue caused the outage, Gallagher said.

“It was a piece of equipment that failed. It needed to be replaced,” he said. “Unfortunately, it left a lot of customers without power.”

The evacuation was lifted about 3:15 p.m. after power was restored and pressure was reduced in the Auction Block refrigeration unit, Hawkins said.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.