Standing ovation for storm response

If you are a lineman for Black Hills Electric Cooperative (BHEC), Black Hills Energy (BHE), an independent company that contracts or another company that came to our area to provide mutual aid, we want to say—thank you.
In the aftermath of the massive windstorm that blew through Custer County and much of the area two weeks ago, thousands upon thousands of people were left without power as the storm pushed trees onto power lines, blew down power lines and even toppled power poles, meaning a hurculean effort was in store for the linemen who were tasked with going out into the field in the wake of the storm and restoring power. But they did it, and they got virtually everybody back online within five to six days of nearly the entire Central and Southern Hills going black. That is miraculous in itself.
We don’t know yet the total of the poles that were damaged and just how many man hours were poured into getting the power back on. What we know is the men and women who worked to bring back the power did so tirelessly from the early morning hours until the evening hours. They worked through the weekend, and were even prepared to work through Christmas to make sure everybody had their power back as soon as possible. That is the kind of dedication these men and women exhibit on a daily basis.
The storm was one the likes we have never seen—at least not in a long, long time—and hope to never see again. It started in the early morning hours of Dec. 18, and lasted well into the day, with gusts reaching as high as 101 miles per hour in Rapid City, and nearly that locally. By the time the sun rose that day the damage the storm had caused had become abundantly—and painfully—evident.
That’s when the employees of the aforementioned entities sprang into action. They were first responders, for all intents and purposes.
With power restored to the vast majority of customers impacted, BHE announced it would return to normal operations Dec. 23. However, power restoration work will be ongoing in areas of Custer State Park where some seasonal homes and campgrounds remain without power. You can see a story focused on the extensive damage in Custer State Park in this issue of the Chronicle.
“We would like to express our sincere appreciation to our customers and communities as we worked to restore power to more than 25,000 customers impacted by this record-breaking windstorm,” said Wes Ashton, Black Hills Energy vice president of South Dakota and Wyoming Utilities. “We are extremely grateful to our community partners, emergency managers and local businesses who worked tirelessly to support this massive effort and keep our communities safe.”
BHEC, BHE and all others involved—we say again, thank you for your tireless and speedy response to the storm. May 2026 keep the wind away!