?Dec. 24, 2022, 2 p.m. CT - Natural Gas Service Restoration Nearly Complete for Black Hills Energy Customers in Mountain Home

?Dec. 24, 2022, 12:45 p.m. CT - We’re happy to share that our crews have successfully restored natural gas service to all available customers impacted by the outage in Mountain Home. If your service has not yet been reinstated, please call us at 888-890-5554. Because of the cold temperatures, Mountain Home residents are still encouraged to reach out to any neighbors who may be out of town and request them to contact us and verify service.

Our customers are extremely important to us and we’d like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to each of you for your patience. To the Real Life Church for opening a 24-hour warming center, the technicians who traveled to Mountain Home to lend a hand, and the entire community for their extended support and understanding – we are so thankful.

From everyone at Black Hills Energy, we wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.

?Dec. 24, 2022, 10:35 a.m. CT - Our techs are working diligently to relight everyone, and as of 10:00 a.m. CT, we’ve restored gas service to 85% of customers impacted by this outage. Our crews are continuing to go door to door to restore service to all remaining customers. As a reminder, if you were unavailable when we attempted to relight your appliances and you received a door tag, please call us at 888-890-5554 to schedule a technician to come back to your home.

We truly appreciate and thank you for your understanding and patience as we near the completion of this process.

?Dec. 24, 2022, 8:00 a.m. CT - Black Hills Energy expects to fully restore Mountain Home customers Dec. 24

?Dec. 24, 2022, 7:00 a.m. CT - The team is making good progress, and we appreciate your patience as we continue to work safely and quickly to restore services. As of last night, we restored gas service to 65% of customers impacted by this outage and have resumed our effort to restore all remaining customers this morning.

If you received a door tag, please call us at 888-890-5554 to schedule a technician to relight your home. Your safety is our first and foremost priority. Don’t attempt to relight your pilot light – our trained technicians will take care of that for you.

Because of the extreme temperatures, Mountain Home residents are encouraged to contact any neighbors who may be out of town. Please ask them to contact us so that we can make sure their service has been restored.

?Dec. 23, 2022, 11:30 p.m. CT - For the safety of our technicians, our crews will continue relighting customer appliances until midnight. They'll resume tomorrow morning to complete the restoration of any remaining customers.

 For anyone in need, a 24-hour warming center is available at the Real Life Church Mountain Home Reach Center, located at 1326 Rossi Road.

If you’re using space heaters, the National Fire Protection Association provides the following safety information:

• Keep the heater at least 3 feet away from anything that can burn, including people
• Place the heater on a solid, flat surface
• Keep space heaters out of the way of foot traffic and never block an exit
• Keep children away from the space heater
• Plug the heater directly into the wall outlet and never use an extension cord
• Space heaters should be turned off and unplugged when you leave the room

Thank you for your continued cooperation and ongoing patience.

?Dec. 23, 2022, 9:30 p.m. CT - Black Hills Energy restores service to 330 Mountain Home customers, work continues

?Dec. 23, 2022, 9:00 p.m. CT - Our crew has successfully repressurized the system and is beginning to go door to door to relight your appliances. For your safety, it’s extremely important that you do not attempt to relight any pilot lights on your own. For unoccupied homes or closed businesses, technicians will leave a door tag with additional instructions.

If you smell natural gas, you should leave your home immediately and call 911, and then call Black Hills Energy at 888-890-5554. Don’t use the phone in the house where you smelled gas or turn off any lights as you leave.

We’ll continue sharing updates on the repair progress and anticipated timelines for restoration.

?Dec. 23, 2022, 7:40 p.m. CT - Our technicians have started the process of bringing natural gas customers back online. We’ve made sure all meters are off and can now begin purging the system so that it’s ready for the reintroduction of natural gas. At that point, our techs will begin going door to door to relight customer appliances. We cannot thank you enough for your patience. 

?Dec. 23, 2022, 5:40 p.m. CT - Thank you for your ongoing patience as we work to restore your natural gas service. Our technicians are currently going door to door to turn off service to 339 impacted meters to safely restore system pressure. Immediately following the restoration of system pressure, technicians will begin relighting customer appliances.

It’s extremely important that you do not attempt to relight any pilot lights on your own. For unoccupied homes or closed businesses, technicians will leave a door tag with additional instructions.

If you smell natural gas, you should leave your home immediately and call 911, and then call Black Hills Energy at 888-890-5554. Don’t use the phone in the house where you smelled gas or turn off any lights as you leave.

We’ll continue sharing updates on progress and anticipated timelines for restoration at blackhillsenergy.com/mountain-home and on Facebook and Twitter.

?Dec. 23, 2022, 4:40 p.m. CT - Black Hills Energy works to restore natural gas service in Mountain Home

?Dec. 23, 2022, 1:45 p.m. CT - Black Hills Energy is currently responding to an interruption of natural gas service in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Our crews are working to resolve the issue and safely facilitate a return of gas service. Our technicians will be going door to door to turn off approximately 339 impacted gas meters, which allows us to complete the necessary work and repressurize the system. Once complete, service will be restored to all impacted residents. For unoccupied homes or closed businesses, technicians will leave a door tag with instructions.

If you’re without heat, a 24/7 warming center has been set up at the Real Life Church Mountain Home Reach Center, located at 1326 Rossi Road. The National Weather Service also advises the following guidance:

• Close off unneeded rooms to avoid wasting heat
• Stuff towels or rags in cracks under doors
• Close blinds or curtains to keep in some heat
• Eat and drink — food provides the body with energy for producing its own heat. Drink plenty of water and other non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beverages to prevent dehydration 
• Wear layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing and remove layers to avoid overheating, perspiration and subsequent chill
• When using heat from a fireplace, wood stove or space heater, use fire safeguards and be sure to properly ventilate

For more ways to stay safe, visit blackhillsenergy.com/safety. If you smell natural gas, you should leave your home immediately and call 911. Then call Black Hills Energy at 888-890-5554. Don’t use the phone in the house where you smelled gas and don’t turn off lights as you leave. We’ll continue sharing updates on the status of the situation and anticipated timelines for restoration here and on Facebook and Twitter. 

Thanks for your patience and understanding as we work hard to resolve this issue and restore your gas service as safely and quickly as possible.

 

?Dec. 23, 2022, 10:40 a.m. CT - We're aware of an issue affecting natural gas service in isolated areas of North Arkansas, including the Mountain Home community. Our crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to resolve this issue and resume service to impacted customers. We’ll provide more information as it becomes available here and on our Facebook and Twitter social media pages.