White-out blacks out Waiouru

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 436, 12 May 1992, Page 1

White-out blacks out Waiouru

It was early nights all round for Waiouru folk on a cold, dark Saturday night as the town was left in the dark after a car accident caused a seven-hour power cut on Saturday aftemoon. A north-bound car lost control and smashed into a power pole 4km south of Waiouru, bringing down the lines. The mother and daughter in the car suffered minor injuries. Midwestern Powerco restored power about 10.30pm, only to face a second cut, caused by a tree brought down by heavy snow falling across power lines. Snow started falling late Saturday night and the town awoke to one of the heaviest falls for some time, estimated about two foot. "It was up to my two-year-old's waist," said Bulletin reporter Jo Howie. Apart from the power cut, the next problem facing a number of people was access. Snow brought down tree branches blocking driveways in several places. "The power cuts weren't too bad. Everybody's got Kent fires so we were all warm and most people cooked on them," said Mrs Howie. Not so comfortable were travellers, stranded at Waiouru when State Highway One was closed, at the Desert Road and later the Waiouru -Taihape road. The power cuts also meant many were unable to refuel, so they had to sit and wait. Big sellers on the Waiouru weekend were candles - sold out in half an hour, lollies for the children, and packs of playing cards. The camp and hospital faired well, running on back-up generators. The snow is good news for Ruapehu's skifields, with about 15 centimetres falling at Whakapapa and a similar amount at Turoa. Whakapapa Field Centre manager Russell Montgomery said the snowfalls had brought out a large number of people to see it, but that no major problems occurred. The high winds on the skifields meant the snow was blown around a lot, but that is good news for skiing as it has helped fill in the gullies a great deal. The snow was wet and heavy, making for good base material. Turoa is still aiming for a mid-June opening and Whakapapa is looking at the end of May.