Failed power line had been damaged for years

Friday, July 18, 1997 | 9:44 a.m.

A power line that failed and left a mobile home park without electricity for a day apparently was damaged as much as six years before it finally went out, Nevada Power Co. officials said.

Nevada Power crews who responded to the power outage at Twain Avenue and Decatur Boulevard Wednesday afternoon found the underground line broken in numerous places, said spokesman Tom Henley.

Evidence of what Henley described as "a shoddy patch job on the conduit," the device encasing the underground wire, has led officials to believe a work crew was responsible.

"It could have been a crew working on sewage, light repair, cable TV or even a road-widening project," Henley said.

Nevada Power was sifting through county records Thursday to determine what permits have been granted in past years for repair work in the area. Once they can find the responsible party, Henley said Nevada Power will be seeking to recover damages for the broken equipment.

Concerned for Eldorado mobile home park residents, at least three of whom Henley said are bedridden, Nevada Power hauled in four portable generators to restore air conditioning. He said crews also brought ice to the residents about midmorning Thursday before power was restored about 1 p.m.