Accident Knocks Out Power at Airport
By Dan Springer, La Crosse Tribune, Wis.
Jul. 31–Power was disrupted Sunday for 947 Xcel Energy customers, including the La Crosse Municipal Airport, after a car struck a power pole in the town of Campbell.
The driver of the car, 18-year-old Spencer Hahn, was cited for first-offense operating while intoxicated, third-offense underage drinking and inattentive driving.
Hahn of 2902 Youngdale St. told a Campbell police officer he was on Lakeshore Drive when his iPod fell and he reached to retrieve it. He looked up just as his vehicle hit the pole about 7:30 p.m., Campbell police Sgt. Tim Kelemen said Monday.
Though the teen denied he had been drinking, the officer smelled alcohol on Hahn’s breath and a preliminary breath test showed a 0.175 blood-alcohol level, Kelemen said.
The French Island outage spread about 10:30 p.m., knocking out power to the terminal at the La Crosse Municipal Airport. While runway lights still worked, a Northwest Airlines flight scheduled to arrive just before midnight was canceled, said airport manager Dan Wruck.
Wruck said he is unsure how passengers were able to make it to La Crosse.
Power was restored about 12:13 a.m. Monday, an Xcel spokesperson said.
Tribune reporter Steve Cahalan contributed to this story.
Dan Springer can be reached at dspringer@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8269.
Xcel Energy’s plant back to full power
The second of two generation units at Xcel Energy’s French Island power plant resumed operation Monday afternoon, the company said. A fire in a circuit breaker caused the facility to shut down July 19, and the first unit was back online July 21. .
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