Power outage caused by aging infrastructure

Heralding the onset of winter, power went out across swaths of Wrangell the afternoon of Dec. 17 after a distribution feeder failed.

At around 3:15 p.m. Feeder 1 near the Public Works yard went down, affecting distribution to much of Church and Cassiar streets, Evergreen Avenue and Spur Road. Power to Wrangell Airport’s runway lights was also cut out, though fortunately after a plane had already landed.

“There were certainly some concerns to be had there,” commented Municipal Light and Power superintendent Clay Hammer. Residents elsewhere in town may have noticed a flickering in their power th...