Power outage affects thousands in Libby

A fallen tree has led to a power outage that has affected thousands of people in the Libby area Wednesday.

According to a spokesperson with the Flathead Electric Cooperative, a tree fell on a Bonneville Power Administration line, knocking out power to 5,600 customers.

“All of Libby and west of there is without power,” FEC spokesperson Wendy Ostrom-Price said. “When something happens to a BPA line, it affects us.”

Ostrom-Price said there were still about 1,300 customers without power at about 1:30 p.m.

There was no time estimate of when power would be fully restored, but Ostrom-Price said it was hoped to be by mid-afternoon.