Power restored for dozens in Columbia after outage lasts for days
COLUMBIA — Power has been restored for 51 of the 68 customers along Paris Road who have been without electricity after a tornado damaged transmission lines Sunday, according to the city.
Seventeen customers were still without power around 5 p.m. Wednesday.
On Easter Sunday, an EF1 tornado hit part of the city, damaging the recycling facility, landfill and power lines.
Columbia Utilities spokesperson Matt Nestor said 20 utility poles were damaged due to severe wind and storms, making the process difficult to fix quickly.
“That’s not something we can snap our fingers and have taken care of overnight,” Nestor said. “These things take time. We want to make sure we do it right.”
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The Easter Sunday tornado tracked 6.37 miles through northern Columbia and was 100 yards at its widest point.
The city did not give a specific time the power lines would be up again.
“They ran into a couple unexpected problems trying to get things up so we’re working on it. We want to have it alleviated as quickly as we can,” Nestor said.
Power restoration is expected to take up to 72 hours, Columbia Water and Light said Monday.