Multiple power outages near Ruch leave 1,500 without power

RUCH, Ore.– 1,500 people in the Ruch area were without power Tuesday night.

According to the Pacific Power website, power has since been restored.

It’s another in a series of outages, according to local residents.

NBC5 reached out to Pacific Power with questions, this was their response:

Due to elevated wildfire conditions, Pacific Power has put in place more sensitive protective settings on power lines for public safety. Longer duration outages could happen, as we’ve seen in the Applegate area, because personnel patrol the lines before returning service. That could result in longer duration outages, should one occur—to protect public safety, personnel will work to make sure power can safely be turned back on.

We understand these outages are frustrating, and we’re taking steps to make them less frequent.

We’re investing in local upgrades that will help make these outages less frequent in the long run make our system more resilient from wildfires. We’re rebuilding nearly 16 miles of lines in the area as part of our wildfire mitigation work, starting later this year, with over 30 miles of line upgrades projected by 2026. This work is part of our multi-year Wildfire Protection Plan.

We’re investing nearly half a billion dollars in wildfire mitigation strategies over the coming years. This includes technology that provides round-the-clock reporting of weather conditions; rebuilding portions of the grid with equipment upgrades; and increasing inspections and vegetation maintenance on our lines.

These measures are intended to promote public safety, and we appreciate customers’ patience.