Crews work to restore downed lines after late May snow storm

Monday night’s storm didn’t just destroy trees; downed power lines were also a major issue, causing outages across the area.

Tuesday, the melting snow made the job a little easier for line crews as they make their way from home to home restoring power.

“It clears the roads, which it’s easier to get around town. We’re trying to help the customer and do it safely. We look after each other, no one gets hurt,” said Tyler Dimenza, a line crew supervisor with Colorado Springs Utilities. “To get the lights back on, that’s our ultimate goal.”

He says crews often work in teams of four, but one day after the storm, they’re working in pairs to gain ground.

“Some unprecedented snow in late May, so real heavy, which caused the green on the trees and the tree limbs to break, which in turn brought down a lot of the power lines,” Dimenza said.

It’s that wet and heavy snow that caused a power pole to slant right in Brian Gregory’s back yard.

He says he’s reported it to CSU and tells us the power line doesn’t bring electricity to just his home, but to his three neighbors’ homes too.

“It’s pretty scary. I don’t go near [power lines]. I call them in and stay away, let the professionals and utility folks that know what they’re doing take care of it,” said Gregory.

Gregory’s home is right in the part of town where Dimenza and his crew have been focusing their efforts.

“This time it seems like it’s more single service houses. A tree limb comes down on their service and so we’re coming out to just restore their service,” Dimenza said, comparing it to storms in the past.

Few homes still have downed lines and no power, but crews expect to get everyone restored by Tuesday night.