Flathead Electric Cooperative offices in Kalispell and Libby will be closed Monday September 7 in observance of the holiday. We will reopen on Tuesday, September 8, at 7:30 A.M.
What We Saw Patrolling the Electric Grid on December 17 and 18, 2025
December 19, 2025 at 11:35 a.m.
Get the most up-to-date outage information here: Outage Updates
Hurricane-force wind travelling over rain-soaked ground wreaked havoc across the Flathead Valley and Libby during the week of December 15, causing major flooding and sending hundreds of trees careening into power lines. Flathead Electric Cooperative’s entire service area was impacted, from Libby to Essex, south through the Swan Valley and Rollins, and north to Whitefish, with some regions experiencing extreme damage to the electric grid and others emerging from the storm largely unscathed.
As of Friday, December 19, at around 1:45 p.m., about 130 individual outages are impacting approximately 6,000 members. Each of those outages affects only a few members, but requires the same level of scrutiny and investment of time by a journeyman lineman to assess and repair, as a larger-scale outage impacting thousands of people. These outages are scattered throughout an area the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Although over half of the Co-op’s power is delivered via underground power lines, there are many areas where underground power is not practical. This means that nearly 2,000 miles of overhead power lines are potentially impacted by the storm. That is enough line to stretch from Kalispell to Anchorage. In addition to the sheer enormity of these size challenges, there is an incredible diversity and complex array of types of damage to the system.
Here’s a look at what our crews are seeing as they work to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. These photos may help you understand why restoring power in a situation like this is so challenging, often involving tree crews and ground support before line crews can even be called on site.
Storm damage near Woods Bay on Wednesday, December 17, 2025. High Winds and fallen trees snapped power poles. At this site, the tree that fell into the line has been removed, but the utility pole will need to be replaced, and the line will need to be made safe before it can be re-energized.Two bucket trucks and one digger truck were needed to remove a large Ponderosa Pine from the overhead transmission line in Bigfork. A digger truck with a rope was used to secure the weight of the tree while Flathead Electric Cooperative line crews worked on the removal. This same tree also demolished the resident’s camper, pictured above.Tree crews remove trees from power lines around Ashley Lake before line crews repair the power lines.As snow begins to fall on December 18, Flathead Electric Cooperative journeyman tree trimmers remove trees from power lines around Ashley Lake prior to line crews repairing the power lines.December windstorm outage restoration.One of the many trees in Lakeside that came down and damaged Flathead Electric Cooperative infrastructure on December 17 and 18.In cases where extensive damage affects only a single meter (or very few meters), members can expect their power to be out for an extended period. For example, when damage occurs on the member’s side of the meter, an electrician must still be called after line crews have restored power to the electric distribution side of the meter. Crews typically must prioritize repairing damage from significant problems, such as transmission lines, then substations, and then main feeders, and so on, before they can address issues impacting only a few meters.A different view of the damage to this power pole and meter.Never, ever approach a downed power line! There’s no way for you to know just by looking at it if it is energized or not. Call 911 immediately to report downed power lines.In Lakeside, high winds brought a power line, pole, and transformer across a member’s driveway, blocking that resident’s exit. When lines are down, assume they are live and dangerous; do not approach. Call 911 in situations like this.A tree is down across a power line in Lakeside. While crews were able to top the downed tree to allow for ingress and egress to the road, more work needs to be completed here before power can be restored.Multiple trees are down, underlining the widespread damage that occurred in Lakeside.Extensive damage to the grid in Lakeside.Tree in a power line on Stoner Creek Road in Lakeside.Multiple trees are down. Unseasonably warm weather and super-saturated soil from the previous week’s atmospheric river allowed numerous trees to be uprooted by hurricane-force winds.Two bucket trucks and one digger truck are needed to remove a large Ponderosa Pine from the overhead transmission line in Bigfork
