Storm blows in work for Glendale city crews

Calls for damage repairs are so great that officials hire contract workers to help out.

Glendale Parks and Recreation employee Tim Delehanty works his way through piles of leaves at Verdugo Park on Friday, December 2, 2011 that were blown down by high winds. (Roger Wilson/Staff Photographer)

It could take until Sunday for Glendale Water & Power to restore power to all 300 customers who lost it during Wednesday’s wind storm, city officials warned Friday.

Crews worked around the clock to repair utility poles damaged in the storm, city spokesman Tom Lorenz said, adding that it could take all weekend to restore power lines due to the extent of the repairs.

“It’s just going to take time,” Lorenz said.

Some damage was temporarily fixed so power could be restored, but Lorenz said crews must return to make permanent repairs. That work will require additional outages, he said. They city has also hired three additional contract crews to assist in the effort, city officials said.

As of Friday, crews had yet to determine when repairs to broken pole parts and downed wires would be completed in four neighborhoods, mostly along Graceland Way, Mesa Lila Road and Urquidez Avenue, and near Val Verde Place and Sycamore and La Crescenta avenues.