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Browns Park residents get power boost from generator

Electric lines burned in Utah fire could be down for a month

Josh Nichols

A temporary generator is being used to power homes in the Browns Park area as a result of the 23,000-acre Mustang Fire burning in

Utah.

About 12 miles of power line, which service Browns Park residents, were burnt down in the Utah fire last week, leaving many people in the northwest corner of the county without electricity.



Russ Cowan, a spokesperson for Moon Lake Electric in Roosevelt, Utah, estimated that the company services about 100 different homes in the Browns Park area.

“We have about 100 miles of line in that area and we estimate that there is about one account per mile,” he said.



The company placed a diesel generator from Salt Lake City in the Browns Park area to provide temporary service until the power lines can be fixed in Utah.

At a meeting held last week, residents were told it could be a month before regular power is restored.

“The problem we’re finding is it’s extremely rugged terrain in that area,” Cowan said this morning. “It’s tough to get a back hoe into many of those places.”

About 70 structures belonging to Moon Lake Electric burned down in the fire.

“Crews are working day and night right now,” Cowan said. “We’re working as hard as we can to

restore service.”

The Moffat County Sheriff’s Department has made its generators available if anyone in the area still needs one, Moffat County Emergency Manager Clyde Anderson said.

The incident management team in charge of coordinating the efforts at the Mustang Wildfire reported 85 percent containment of the blaze this morning.

Stephanie Neal Johnson, information officer for the team, said the fire has not grown since last week.

It’s burning consistently at about 20,000 acres and has not spread any farther east toward Colorado, she said. Last week people in the northwest corner of the county were put on alert regarding the Mustang

Fire.

The fire began about one mile north of the town of Dutch John, Utah, which is located near Flaming Gorge Dam.

“It’s looking good,” Johnson said. “We’re just working the hot spots and will probably pull out by Tuesday and turn it back over to local crews.”


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