Wind storm knocks out City power
by Kenny Fallon Jr.
On March 18th, from about 6:30 PM to 4 AM the next morning, Green River City was without electricity. The transmission lines to a section of SE Utah (including Green River, Moab, and Monticello) transport power from three directions. According to Rocky Mountain Power regional business manager Merlin Rushton, the massive wind storm on March 18th temporarily knocked out the Pinto Substation in Monticello (fed from 4 Corners), a Switch Rack in Carbon County was already offline for scheduled repairs, and the line from the Huntington Power Plant also incurred damage due to high winds causing it to be out of service. This unusual combination caused the temporary power outage in the region, making Green River a "dark sky community" for at least the night.