[UPDATE Saturday] PG&E Estimates Power Will Be Restored to Hoopa Area by 6 p.m.

PG&E estimates that Hoopa area residents should have power back by 6 p.m., according to spokesperson Deanna Contreras. Power went out to approximately 2200 residents about 5 p.m. yesterday when a tree fell in a remote area near Willow Creek breaking a power pole. About 100 have had electricity restored so far.

“The tree fell in challenging terrain,” Contreras explained. “[It was] too steep to roll equipment in.” The crews had to dig a hole by hand and a special helicopter had to bring in the new pole. “A second helicopter had to bring in wire,” she said.

“We appreciate everyone’s patience,” she said.

UPDATE 7:30 p.m.: According to PG&E, they are now estimating the power will not be restored until 7 p.m. tomorrow.

UPDATE Saturday: A PG&E spokesperson tells us that poer was restored to all customers as of 10:45 p.m. “We apologize for the extended outage but we are grateful for our customers’ patience,” she said.