A downed pole and power line on Heath Street caused a power outage at about 2:50 p.m. Thursday, June 21. Bruce Shelley, director of member relations, said the outage caused about 430 members to lose power. Homer Police and HEA crews blocked off Heath Street from Pioneer Avenue to Bonanza Avenue. The outage affected homes and businesses in downtown Homer and parts of Old Town. Power was restored at about 3:50 p.m.

Shelley said the outage happened when an HEA flatbed truck with an all-terrain boom-crane vehicle on top driving south on Heath Street snagged a low hanging telephone line near the entrance to the Kachemak Bay Campus. The HEA equipment yard is off Heath Street. The truck pulled the line and caused one utility pole to snap and another pole to lean down. The truck stopped near Bonanza Avenue, dragging cables and part of a utility pole. A power line then fell across Heath Street near the college. No one was injured in the incident, Shelley said.

“It was a loud boom,” said KBC director Carol Swartz. “… I thought the building had been hit.”

As of 4 p.m., HEA crews were still making repairs and Heath Street remained closed.

“It’s good power is back up and nobody got hurt,” Shelley said.

Reach Michael Armstrong at marmstrong@homernews.com.

Homer Electric Association crews assess a downed line and pole on Heath Street about 3:15 p.m. Thursday, June 21. The truck in the foreground snagged a low-hanging telephone line, breaking a pole and bringing down a power line. The outage affected about 430 customers in downtown Homer. No one was injured in the incident. (Photo by Michael Armstrong / Homer News)

Homer Electric Association crews assess a downed line and pole on Heath Street about 3:15 p.m. Thursday, June 21. The truck in the background snagged a low-hanging telephone line, breaking a pole and bringing down a power line. The outage affected about 430 customers in downtown Homer. No one was injured in the incident. (Photo by Michael Armstrong / Homer News)