Power Restored To Most Anchorage Residents

By Ellen Lockyer, KSKA - Anchorage | September 10, 2012 - 5:17 pm

The power companies in Anchorage say only a small number of customers are still without electricity in the wake of the severe windstorm that hit the city last week.

Anchorage mayor Dan Sullivan has made no public comment since the big storm, but city spokesperson Lindsey Whitt says the city office of emergency management has issued a damage survey through the city website. The survey will help the city decide if a declaration of emergency is warranted. The city office of emergency management can also be contacted through its Facebook page. According to Whitt, city police were swamped with calls during the storm.

Whitt says no deaths or serious injuries have been reported as a result of the storm, nor has the city received word of any major loss of property.

The Red Cross’s Katie Bender says her organization has helped only two families find temporary shelter since the storm hit last Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the cleanup continues. The Anchorage Botanical Garden was hit particularly hard. The Garden’s director Julianne McGuinness says 50 or more trees are down at the 80 acre garden at the foot of the Chugach mountains.

The Garden leases the land from the municipality. It closed for two days, so workers could assess safety concerns. So far volunteers have cleared most of the Garden ‘s trails, and the facility has reopened for its usual hours.

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