A power outage Saturday night left 10,430 residents and businesses in downtown Durango in the dark for nearly three hours.
La Plata Electric Association initially reported 18,000 customers were affected by the outage.
According to LPEA manager of operations Justin Talbot, a lightning strike around 5:29 p.m. hit Tri-States’s transformer/substation in Bodo Park, causing extensive damage.
The outage affected LPEA customers in locations around downtown Durango, Bodo Park, Florida Mesa and out by County Road 307, he said.
The Durango La Plata County Airport was without power for about an hour and a half, which caused one flight to be delayed about an hour, director of aviation Tony Vicari said Saturday.
Talbot said Mercy Regional Medical Center was not affected by the outage.
Talbot said there are two transformers at the Bodo Park location, so if one goes bad, there’s a back up to keep electricity flowing to customers.
However, Talbot said Tri-State was doing routine maintenance on the back up transformer, so when the lightning strike took out the primary transformer, the power went out.
Most LPEA customers had their electricity restored by 8:30 p.m., Talbot said.
But that didn’t keep local restaurants and bars from being significantly impacted, according to several local businesses.
“Saturday night from 6 to 8 p.m. is not exactly the ideal time for a restaurant to be closed,” said Michael Olive, a bartender and manager at Derailed Pour House.
Olive said the restaurant on 7th Street and Main Avenue offered a cash-only bar and limited menu when the power went out. Most people left, he said, and the restaurant was about to close for the night when the electricity was restored.
“It was crazy, chaotic,” Olive said. “We probably lost some money.”
Dave Woodruff, a manager at El Moro Spirits and Tavern, said he had to close early.
“We tried to keep it open as long as we could … and make the best of it with what we had,” Woodruff said. “But in the end had to make sure safety of my employees and close early.”
A manager at Fired Up Pizzeria said the restaurant initially closed, but once the power was turned back on, managers decided to stay open later than usual business hours to meet the needs those craving late night pizza.
“It was so busy,” said Jessica Haden. “It was crazy.”
And Liam Southwick, an employee at Jean Pierre Bakery & Wine Bar, said the French-inspired eatery probably lost a couple hundred dollars in sales due to the power outage.
“Especially because it was a Saturday night,” Southwick said.
It appears that J. Bo’s Pizza and Rib Co. was one of the few, if only, restaurants left with power Saturday night. And as a result, they were seemingly in charge of feeding the town of Durango.
“We’ve been in business almost 15 years and that was definitely the busiest we’ve ever been,” said manager Matt Spanjers.
Spanjers said he called five extra employees to come into work to assist with the rush, and even enlisted the help of his parents who were in town visiting.
“It was record-breaking, as far as numbers go,” Spanjers said.
LPEA’s Talbot said maintenance crews will continue to test and make sure equipment is safe at the Bodo Park transfer station.
Durango Police and La Plata County Sheriff’s Office reported no issues directly related to power outage.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
