MARCH 20, 2025|
Photo – Saratoga Police Department patch – Bigfoot99 file photo
When the power went out in Saratoga for nearly 24 hours beginning in the early afternoon on Saturday, March 8, the town’s police department, like businesses and private citizens, had to employ an emergency operating plan to deal the situation.
Saratoga Police Chief John Moore described to the Town Council, this week, how his department handled the power outage.
The transformer at the Trowbridge Substation “tripped out” early that Saturday afternoon, according to Carbon Power and Light. After determining the cause of the technical issue and what would be required to fix it, the utility company advised the public that the outage was expected to last for an extended period. Crews and equipment needed to be called in from out-of-state.
Carbon Power and Light’s warning proved accurate, as power was not restored to customers until around noon the next day.
During this week’s Saratoga town council meeting, Police Chief Moore said that his department established an emergency command center following the outage and police communications equipment went without power.
Chief Moore said police set up a Carbon County Coordination Center, or C4, in the Saratoga Police Department to handle any emergency medical calls.
While the call center wasn’t needed, Chief Moore said the power outage revealed problems with the backup generator at the Town Hall. The police chief said the generator did not power essential equipment. Chief Moore said the system has been repaired, so it functions properly in the future.
The police chief also said the power outage damaged the 911 emergency call system. A technician was dispatched and the system was repaired. When power was restored, the system went offline again. The technician repaired the issue remotely and the system is now operating normally.
Mayor Chuck Davis asked the police chief if the town will need to maintain its 911 emergency call system after they transfer dispatching services to the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief Moore said the system will be used as a backup for the sheriff’s department. If the county’s 911 system fails or goes offline, emergency calls will automatically be transferred to Saratoga. Additionally, as demonstrated during the power outage, calls can also be transferred in the opposite direction.
Chief Moore said during the outage, he received only two calls for service. Both callers reported suspicious activity at the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort. However, officers were unable to find evidence of criminal activity on either occasion.
