OKANOGAN – Approximately 500 Okanogan County PUD customers are without power. Mutual Aid crews were scheduled to arrive Monday and Tuesday from PUDs to assist local crews replace over 500 poles that have been destroyed in the fire.

“We estimate that power in Conconully could be restored as early as the end of the week. Additionally, we estimate that it will take several weeks to fully restore service to the Tunk Mountain and Aeneas Valley areas. Although crews are working around the clock to restore power to affected areas, we will continue to respond to new customer service requests,” writes the PUD in a press release last Monday.

Those customers that are, or will be, running generators, are asked to call the PUD office at 509-422-3310 to notify them.

“Safety is our first priority. Small generators can compromise the safety of our customers, utility crews and emergency workers. All small generators should be installed by a licensed electrician. Proper generator installation procedures are available on our website atwww.okanoganpud.org,” the release continues.

There remains active fire along multiple sections of the power line corridor. The Loup Loup Transmission line continues to stay energized and will continue to stay energized unless (1) the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requests the line to be de-energized for firefighting safety, or (2) the fire burns the transmission line.

We are still experiencing an active fire situation. Please be aware of your situation, monitor evacuation levels and check on neighbors who may not have received notification. For customers that have been affected by the fire or to report outages or downed lines, please call 509-422-3310.