June 17 Power Outages in Wellington Closed Businesses

Folks all around Wellington were dealing with power outages on Thursday, June 17, closing businesses for the afternoon. This photo was taken by Matt Dierlam with North Forty News, as he was out in search of food and finding food establishments, and the grocery store closed.

Ridley’s Market was closed between 2:30p-6:30p due to the power outage. “It is unsafe for customers and staff to be inside the store with no power,” shared Camren Schneider, the Assistant Manager of Ridley’s. “We had a good team that day and were able to pull out perishable products and put them into coolers that stay cool. We had to throw out some ice cream and lost money in sales during that time, but the product made it through ok,” Camren assured.

Necole Baer with Waxi Taxi in downtown Wellington had to close due to the power outage. “All a sudden, the power in the salon went out, and none of us could use our cell phones to call clients,” shares Necole. The wax in the pots solidified as the power outage went on. While the power was back on by the following day, the timers on the pots no longer set correctly, created some delay in having the wax ready for morning appointments.

Restaurants and fast food establishments also had to close for the afternoon, though word on the street is that the breweries could still serve beer.

It was a sweltering afternoon, as residents were impacted by AC’s not working. Outages are reminders of having a plan in place if there are emergency needs for electricity for both home and business. Generators are a worthwhile investment.

North Forty News tried to contact Xcel Energy but received an automated system. There has been no response. There were reports that power was out in other communities, including Timnath, and that a storm may have knocked out some damaged power poles.