Traffic was alternating directions in one lane in the 3300 block of La Posta Road (County Road 213) as of about 6:40 p.m. Tuesday. It was thought to continue as such for some time as a La Plata Electric Association crew, who arrived on scene at about 5:45 p.m., worked to get a downed power line back up.

The line was downed when a pole broke, and it did not go all the way down on the road, said Indiana Reed, spokeswoman for La Plata Electric Association.

“The broken pole was weather-related but not lightning-related,” she said. “We don’t have an alternate feed down there, so they’ll be rebuilding, replacing the pole.”

About 79 customers in the area were without power as of about 6 p.m., Reed said. LPEA expected to have the power back up by 8 p.m.

LPEA also confirmed an outage in the Columbine-Delwood area near Needham Elementary School. About 39 to 40 customers were without power there Tuesday evening.

“According to the dispatcher,” Reed said, “that one is lightning-related.”

The downed power line was caused by a broken pole, she said, but she had no word on what had caused the break.

At about 5:10 p.m., a lightning strike hit a tree in the 2000 block of Florida Road (County Road 240), about halfway up the mountain in Timberline View Estates. DFPD responded.

“They were not able to find anything” said DFPD Fire Marshal Karola Hanks at about 6:15 p.m. “I think the rain probably put it out.”

While La Plata County likely will see rain and thunderstorms through the night, southern La Plata County was under a significant weather alert until 5:15 p.m. Wednesday.

“I’m seeing all kinds of lighting around me,” Reed said at about 6 p.m. “I hope I don’t lose power myself.”

The storm is moving northeast at 35 mph, the National Weather Service said, with winds exceeding 40 mph possible.

abutler@durangoherald.com