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| Lake Country Power employee Drew Schwarz, 33, was electrocuted to death while working to restore an outage near Orr, Minnesota |
Authorities ID utility worker who died near Orr, Minnesota
By Tom Olsen on Jul 1, 2018
Authorities have identified a Lake Country Power employee who died Friday while working to restore an outage near Orr.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office reported that Drew Schwarz, 33, of Cook, was pronounced dead at the scene southwest of Orr. The incident was reported as a possible electrocution just before 6 p.m.
The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate, and an autopsy is pending at the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.
Lake Country spokeswoman Tami Zaun said the utility responded to more than 7,500 outages after severe thunderstorms blew through the region early Friday morning. She said the lineworker collapsed at the scene but it was not immediately clear whether it was due to electrocution or another cause.
"Despite the loss of a fellow employee, friend, and co-op family member, crews will continue working today and tomorrow until power is restored for members," Zaun said.
3:30
p.m. Update for Saturday, June 30: Lake Country Power line crews
continue making progress on outage restoration efforts near Ely, Cook
and Orr while mourning the loss of a friend and fellow employee. An LCP
lineworker collapsed and died Friday evening while crews were restoring
electrical service following a severe summer storm.
“We’re piecing together the information to determine what happened,”
said Greg Randa, LCP general manager. “Our entire co-op family mourns.
Our hearts, our thoughts, and our prayers are with the family of a
fallen friend, co-op family member and colleague.”
“We don’t
have a clear picture of what happened yet,” he said. “We expect the
investigation will help answer questions and help determine the cause.
We need to complete all fact-finding, including the autopsy.”
LCP crews have been working to restore outages since early Friday
morning when a severe storm knocked down trees, power lines and broke
dozens of poles. Another severe storm blew in early Saturday morning and
knocked power out for another 1,500 members in the region. More than
4,000 LCP members are without electric service as crews continue to
work.
Members may visit the Outage Center online at www.lakecountrypower.coop or http://mi.lcp.coop:82/ for a real-time outage status.
To report an outage, please call 800-421-9959, press 1. Or use SmartHub, which can be found at www.lakecountrypower.com.
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Northern Minnesota Electric Company Worker Dies While Restoring Power
June 30, 2018 12:26 PM
An employee of a northern Minnesota electric company died Friday while working to restore power to areas affected by severe thunderstorms.
Lake Country Power said the lineworker collapsed around 6 p.m. and an investigation is underway.
The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office identified the deceased worker as a 33-year-old man from Cook. While the cause of death is uncertain, the sheriff's office said he was reportedly electrocuted.
"Despite the loss of a fellow employee, friend, and co-op family member, crews will continue working today and tomorrow until power is restored for members," the company wrote in a Facebook post.
Line crews responded to more than 7,500 outages near Ely, Orr, Cook, Lake Vermilion, Babbitt and other parts of northern Minnesota Friday, according to Lake Country Power.
The 33-year-old worker working on an outage in Orr, according to the sheriff's office.
The company provides electric services to 43,000 people in rural northern Minnesota, according to their Facebook page.
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8:30 p.m. Sunday Update: Lake Country Power line crews made progress Sunday as they worked to restore service for co-op members affected by a couple severe summer storms since Friday morning. There are currently 525 members without power.
Since Friday morning, crews have restored service for nearly 7,000 members.
Line crews remain working throughout the northern locations of the co-op’s service area to restore service. The Eagles Nest area near Ely took a large amount of damages from the storm. Other hard hit remote areas include Babbitt, Ely, Lake Vermilion, Orr and additional areas south of Eveleth.
Crews will work until 9:00 p.m. tonight, and then will be called in for mandatory rest and safety. They’ll resume work early Monday morning. Lake Country Power anticipates any remaining outages after 9:00 p.m. Sunday night will be restored on Monday, which includes the remotest areas and individual outages.
All available Lake Country Power crews, including those from the Grand Rapids and Kettle River Service Centers, worked Sunday to restore power, including assistance from Lake States Construction and Highline Construction.
Crews continue working as they mourn an LCP lineworker who collapsed and died Friday evening while restoring electrical service. The cause of death is not clear and an investigation is underway. An autopsy will be performed to help determine the cause.
Members may call the cooperative at 1-800-421-9959 for more information, or visit the Outage Center online at www.lakecountrypower.coop or http://mi.lcp.coop:82 for a real-time outage status.
