Strong winds blow big kite into Ukiah power lines, causing outage

The kite flier told Ukiah firefighters the kite had dragged him aways before it hit the power line.|
RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Tuesday afternoon’s blustery weather drew out one Ukiah kite flier whose fancy toy blew into a power line, briefly knocking out electricity to more than 1,000 customers.

The wind was so strong the $450, 5-meter-wide kite dragged the man holding the line partially across a softball field before the kite hit the power line, the man told Ukiah Valley firefighters, according to fire Engineer Ian Broeske.

Firefighters were called about 3:30 p.m. to the River Road softball fields in northeast Ukiah about a kite hitting a power line.

The damaged power line caused an outage to about 1,100 customers, a PG&E spokeswoman said. Power was restored about 40 minutes later.

Wind gusts Tuesday afternoon were measured at 32 mph in Ukiah, Santa Rosa and other Sonoma County spots, according to PG&E.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.

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