Wicked storm downs 150 power poles

CAPULÍN, N.M. (KRQE) - The winds were so fierce and snow so heavy, almost 150 power poles snapped like they were nothing in northeastern New Mexico.

Crew were still counting all the downed lines late Tuesday afternoon. Nine hundred homes were without power, and it might be that way for days.

Areas east of Raton and east of Springer are the ones affected.
"Most of these poles are shattered, splintered, and you can see them sticking up along the side of the road," said Springer Electric Cooperative Manager John Weisdorfer. "I was out there until 2 a.m. removing poles and wires from the middle of the road so traffic could get through safely.
"It was unbelievable," he said.

Crews are moving as fast as they can to clean up the mess, but Monday night's storm was just too much. Residents braved wind gusts of more than 60 mph, and in some places there are up to 8 inches of snow.

"Heavy snow started sticking to our power lines along with ferocious winds, and it just made a heck of a combination for us," said Weisdorfer.

Entire power poles will have to be replaced in order to restore service to customers. The company hopes the work will be done by the end of the week meaning power will come back on by Friday.

To help extra crews were called in from Arizona and Texas. In all there will be an extra 25 people working overtime to fix the mess, but the manager says it won't be easy.

"Please be patient and bear with us," said Weisdorfer. "The weather conditions out there are still tough
"The ground is real muddy. We're going to have difficulty getting around, but we are going to do our best."

The electric co-op says some of the poles were brand new, so they know age wasn't the reason why the went down.

There were also power outages in metro Albuquerque Tuesday morning, and eight schools were without heat and electricity for a couple of hours.  Power was restored by noon.

The storm left its mark across much of the state dropping rain in some areas, sleet in others and serious snow elsewhere.

In Albuquerque's East Mountains 6 inches of snow delayed schools with state Department of Transportation crews clearing roads just in time for school buses.

Nearby Tijeras got 6-8 inches while fog socked in Interstate 40.

The main issue in Albuquerque was heavy rain and downed tree branches like the ones that block a section of San Pasquale Avenue SW until two Albuquerque police officers cleared the debris.

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Online:  April Snow Showers gallery of photos submitted by KRQE.com users.