High winds, freezing rain, sleet and then snow in a late season storm resulted in Garretson area residents losing power, canceling school and activities throughout last week.
In Garretson, after the bad weather initially started the evening of Wednesday, April 10th, most city residents were without power from between 7-8 p.m. until just after midnight.
School was closed on both Thursday and Friday, and the Jesse James Invitational Track Meet scheduled for Saturday, April 13 was also postponed. The SD Game Fish and Parks public meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday the 10th was also postponed until April 24 at 6:30 p.m.
Restoration work is ongoing. Roads have been very difficult to navigate, soft and very easy to get stuck in. Linemen worked through difficult conditions including wading through chest deep water in flooded areas.
Sioux Valley Energy reported that as of Monday, April 15 they still had 1,264 members without power in surrounding communities such as Pipestone, Trent and Egan. All power was restored to the Garretson Area as of Sunday, April, 14. They increased their workforce temporarily by 300% to get as many people restored as quickly as possible. SVE reported that 623 poles were broken in the storm and there were almost 10,000 customers without power during the peak of the storm.
Xcel Energy reports that over 900 employees were out working to restore power as quickly as possible. Over 300 poles went down in South Dakota and Minnesota, leaving 4,400 people without power in South Dakota on April 12, but power to all of their customers was restored by April 14. Above, Garretson City Maintenance Officer Craig Nussbaum works to clean up the mess. Below is a stuck repair truck, photo courtesy of Sioux Valley Energy.
