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Strong storm downs trees, leads to power outages in Helena

Posted at 7:52 PM, Jul 13, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-13 21:52:16-04

HELENA — A strong storm that blew through Helena Saturday afternoon brought down a number of trees and knocked out power to some residents.

The storm brought powerful winds through the area around 3:45 p.m.

The Helena Fire Department responded to more than a dozen calls for trees or large branches that had fallen into the road or near power lines. Battalion Chief Bob Harvey said they assisted the city streets department in clearing any traffic blockages and that they set up safety barriers around any affected electrical lines.

Harvey said authorities also responded to a number of medical calls around the same time.

NorthWestern Energy reported power outages affecting several hundred residents. According to the utility’s online outage map, confirmed outages were centered around the Interstate 15-U.S. Highway 12 interchange, and several others were reported several more in the downtown area, the north Helena Valley and the East Valley area.

-Reported by Jonathon Ambarian/MTN News