Wind-damaged pole had thousands in dark

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A massive power outage that had thousands in the dark started with a broken pole, likely due to the high winds ushered in by the Arctic front Monday morning.

Austin Energy officials said they found a broken power pole in the 8400 block of Brodie Lane near West Gate Boulevard and guessed winds may have sent tree limbs crashing into it.

It must be repaired before power can be restored to the remaining 30 customers, which should happen around 10 a.m.

Energy crews rerouted power to the remaining 2,359 customers left in the dark just after 5 a.m. That gets the power back on for them while crews target the problem spot.

About 30 minutes later, an additional 1,000 Austin Energy customers in the Barton Hills neighborhood just south of Zilker Park were left without power because of tree limbs falling on power lines there. That's in the Rabb Road area.

It will be another two- to three hours before tree trimmers can get the limbs off of the lines so that power can be restored, which will be around 9:30 a.m. at the earliest.