JEFFERSON COUNTY — As communities across Montana continue to recover from Wednesday’s wind storm, thousands of people in Jefferson County remained without power and without access to clean drinking water for much of Thursday. Most of the power was restored by Thursday evening after first responders worked through the day to help impacted residents.
Clancy firefighter Jason Johnson said his department responded to seven calls during the height of Wednesday’s windstorm. And on Thursday, Johnson’s fire hall had been transformed into a generator-powered charging and warming station to provide impacted residents a warm place to charge their personal electronics or medical devices and a place to get non-potable water until the city’s water services resume.
“So, we’ll be running until 9:00 tonight,” Johnson told MTN around 2 p.m. “But with the water, we’re stopping that at 9, so that we don’t freeze that line going out and cause any damage with the cold weather coming in. And then tomorrow morning, 8:00, we’ll have the water back up and going. And we’ll run it until 9 again. And we’ll do that until the power comes back on for everybody.”
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office set up a similar charging-and-warming station in Boulder, where Northwestern Energy reported as of 11 a.m. over 1,200 customers were without power – and city officials asked residents to conserve water use.
“Without power, you’ve always got to stay prepared,” Jefferson County Undersheriff James Everett said. “Y’know, your furnace might go out. Your heaters might go out. Any medical devices that you might need for your heart or for yourself or for someone else. And then anything you need that could help you survive. And anymore, anything runs on electricity.”
And despite power being out throughout Boulder for most of Thursday, one of the only businesses along Main Street that remained open was Ace Hardware. Owner Bridget Morse told MTN people had been streaming into her store all day, buying things like flashlights, batteries and extension cords.
“Oh, just to help people,” Morse said of her reason for staying open. “I don’t want to see people suffering, and they need these things. And some people don’t have the wherewithal to drive clear to Helena or Butte. Y’know, an extra trip in a month is expensive for them. And just to get some batteries or a flashlight – that can really hurt people.”
A shelter was opened in Helena for those still without power.
