Ausitn Energy works around the clock to restore power

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Crews burned the midnight oil to restore power to thousands of people across Austin.  Strong winds on Monday caused tree limbs to fall on power lines.  Crews would have to wait for tree trimming services to remove the debris before they could fix the outages.

Austin Energy said half of its system is at the back of lots compared to the street and makes it hard for crews to reach the downed wires.  They have to climb trees and poles in order to make repairs.

A prime example of the problem happened in the 6500 block of Sumac Dr. in Northwest Austin.  The downed power line was in a backyard nestled with a lot of trees and brush. 

"The terrain of this backyard is really really rough," explained Tom Covington, a crew leader for Austin Energy.  "I mean it's like this a lot around  the city you know it would be nice if a lot of this stuff was on the street."

Austin Energy believes 30,000 people lost power at some point on Monday and Tuesday.

There were about 15 repair crews and dozens of tree trimming crews across town working to restore power.  Austin Energy says it made repairs to more than 300 locations.