Falling tree knocks out power to 1,000s in southern Bend

(Update: All power back on; utility says downed tree was cause)

A downed tree triggered a power outage that hit more than 3,500 Pacific Power customers in southern Bend for several hours on a hot Monday afternoon.

The outage was reported around 2:15 p.m. and initially affected 3,517 customers, according to Pacific Power’s Oregon outages map.

By 3:15 p.m., crews had restored power to more than half of those affected, with 1,293 still without service. But repair work knocked out power again to some of the restored customers for a time.

The utility estimated it could take until 5:30 p.m. to restore power to everyone. But the last lights weren’t back on until just after 7 p.m., said utility spokeswoman Tom Gauntt.