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Show Public Servants Kept Busy During Blackout As in most cities affected by Saturday night's electrical failure, in Panguitch law enforcement personnel, volunteer firemen, jeep posse members and utility service personnel were kept busy throughout the five hour and twenty minute blackout. Power went out in Panguitch shortly after 7 p.m. when a lightning bolt struck a power terminal station in Salt Lake City. The bolt also knocked out a 140,000-volt line. Utah Power and Light's automatic shut offs came into play to prevent further damage until repairs could be made, with power out as far south as Mesquite, Nev. Power units are set up in a grid system so that damage can be confined as much as possible. When extreme overloads occur they can override grid protective devices and cause widespread problems. Once the main source of trouble was repaired, the system began to "light up" as grid after grid came back on line. With the loss of power Saturday evening, the Garfield County Emergency Dispatch lost all radio communication and lost their telephones as well. One of the problems occurred when a fish and game officer requested back-up and was unable to get in touch with the emergency dispatch center and had to contact Richfield The Richfield dispatcher in turn contacted Kanab where the dispatcher contacted Deputy Boyd Woolsey in Escalante who took appropriate action. Ambulances were on call at rodeos, and other places in areas that had power and did not know of Panguitch's dilemma. (Continued on Page 7) Blackout (Continued from Page 1) At dusk, Than Cooper of the Panguitch City Police Department alerted the Garfield County Sheriffs Jeep Posse who did routine checking on residences and business establishments to protect against vandalism and the possibility of looting, said Garfield County Sheriff Vic Middleton. Under the direction of Deputy Sheriff Bruce Heywood, some of the Jeep posse members checked out Panguitch Lake resorts and area campgrounds affected by the outage for any possible problems. Sheriff Middleton jerry-rigged a phone set-up to accept incoming calls. A fire occured at the Afton Church residence and the fire department responded to the call, but by the time they arrived, neighbors had the fire under control. The department assisted with the clean-up and the Church home sustained minimal damage. While the power was off the fire siren could not be sounded and the responsibility of notifying the volunteer firemen fell to officer Cooper, who drove around town to the various firefighters' homes notifying them by bull-horn that they were needed at the fire house. Garfield Memorial Hospital also experienced difficulty with its emergency lighting system and several posse members were sent there to assist the hospital staff in restoring service. Assistance was given to motorists with vehicular problems and lack of gasoline. Officer Cooper, who bore the brunt of "watching" Panguitch, during the prolonged darkness, said he was "grateful for the help of the sheriff's department, the sheriff's posse and members of the community who helped." |