Tens of thousands of Southcentral Alaska residents are without power Friday morning as strong wind hits the region.
More than 47,000 customers had reported outages as of 9 a.m. Friday, according to outage maps from Chugach Electric Association and Matanuska Electric Association. The outages stretched from Willow and Wasilla south to Anchorage and Whittier.
The National Weather Service issued high wind warnings for the Anchorage area and the lower Matanuska Valley, in effect until at least 11 a.m. Friday. Wind gusts in Anchorage and Eagle River were expected to reach as high as 80 mph, the Weather Service said.
The wind is expected to taper off Friday afternoon.
Chugach Electric line crews were working to restore power knocked out by fallen trees and downed power lines, utility spokesperson Julie Hasquet said.
"We need to let the crews get in there and do their work, and we will continue to be out there all day until everybody gets their power restored," Hasquet said.
Chugach Electric urges people never to approach a downed power line or tree, Hasquet said.
Outages can be reported at the Chugach Electric or Matanuska Electric websites.
"These winds are pretty crazy, and they definitely take a toll on our system," Hasquet said. "So we always appreciate the members being patient, letting our crews get the work done, and just stay safe out there."
This is a developing story.
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