Construction crew strikes underground cable, causes power outage

Construction crew strikes underground cable, causes power outage

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Brian Manthey with We Energies tells FOX6 News that approximately 300 customers lost power Thursday morning, June 5th after a construction crew struck an underground cable.The incident occurred around 8:20 a.m. and knocked out power to hundreds of customers -- including Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Children’s Hospital, The Blood Center of Wisconsin, and Medical College of Wisconsin.Manthey said he suspected the medical facilities have back-up generators/systems that would continue to supply power for their facilities.A We Energies crew responded to the scene -- and all electrical systems were back up and running around 10 a.m.Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.

Graduation POSTPONED: Power outage affects North Division High School

Graduation POSTPONED: Power outage affects North Division High School

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A Milwaukee Public Schools spokesperson tells FOX6 News a power outage is affecting North Division High School -- and Thursday evening's graduation ceremony has been impacted.The school adjusted lunch times and class times on Thursday -- but other than that, the school day wasn't affected.We Energies says there is a damaged underground line that is causing the outage.Currently, the power outage is only affecting the school -- but earlier Thursday, June 5th, about 1,000 residents were affected.The power apparently went out around 8:00 a.m.FOX6 News has learned the power outage is impacting North Division High School graduation.The graduation ceremony set for Thursday, June 5th, has been POSTPONED.Graduation will now take place on Friday, June 6th at 5:00 p.m. at North Division High School.Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates.

Tracking their future: We Energies bands peregrine falcons

Tracking their future: We Energies bands peregrine falcons

OAK CREEK (WITI) -- It was quite the show and tell at the Oak Creek We Energies power plant, as fourth graders from Country Dale Elementary School got to meet the company's newest additions."I thought it was pretty amazing because you usually don't get to see this very often," said 4th grader Stella Nastolski.The students have been learning how peregrine falcons were nearly wiped out due to the widespread use of pesticides.We Energies stepped in to help peregrine falcons in the 90s by placing nests on 6 of its power plants."They've been following the birds all along on our webcam and watching them grow and today it really brings that classroom instruction full circle as they get to go on a field trip and watch the banding," said We Energies Spokesperson Cathy Schulze.Five of the power plant nests had eggs hatch.Now that the babies are between 18 to 24 days old it's the perfect time to band them, because their legs are fully grown and they can determine the gender as the males are about one-third smaller than the females."They can travel great distances and by banding them it allows us to document that.

In the dark: Large power outage reported in Franklin/Hales Corners area

In the dark: Large power outage reported in Franklin/Hales Corners area

FRANKLIN/HALES CORNERS (WITI) -- As storms pushed through on Sunday evening, We Energies' Power Outage Map showed several outages throughout southeastern Wisconsin.The largest outage as of around 8:00 p.m. Sunday was in the Franklin/Hales Corners area.There, the We Energies Power Outage Map shows 1,456 customers affected.The cause of this power outage remains under investigation.There are several other power outages scattered across the Power Outage map -- but those outages are each affecting less than 100 customers.

Homes evacuated: Driver slams into natural gas line near We Energies facility

Homes evacuated: Driver slams into natural gas line near We Energies facility

RACINE (WITI) -- Racine County Sheriff's officials say speed and alcohol are believed to be factors in a crash in which a 21-year-old driver went through a fence, and slammed into a natural gas line.It happened on Monday, May 26th just after 8:00 p.m. at the intersection of State Highway 20 and Honey Creek Road in the Town of Waterford.Sheriff's officials say a single vehicle, driven by a 21-year-old woman went through a fence surrounding a We Energies main line gas junction station -- and slammed into a natural gas line -- breaking it open, and venting natural gas into the air.The driver was apparently trapped in the vehicle.The first deputy on scene determined that the gas line struck was a high pressure gas line -- and the area needed to be evacuated.That same deputy was able to pull the driver out of the vehicle and carry her to safety.She was the only person in the vehicle -- and is said to have sustained head injuries.

Soaring once again: We Energies helps save peregrine falcon

Soaring once again: We Energies helps save peregrine falcon

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- They used to proudly soar above Wisconsin, but in the 1950s and 1960s peregrine falcons became endangered throughout the state due to the heavy use of pesticides."This bird was virtually extinct and it took a concerted effort to bring the bird back and We Energies is really proud to be a part of that," said We Energies Spokesperson Cathy Schulze.It was in the late 1980s when We Energies began putting artificial nesting boxes on its power plants.This would attract birds to the area and provide them with a safe place to live and reproduce."Our power plants afford a very similar type of nesting environment being very high and open and it really gives them protection from a lot of different predators," said We Energies Environmental Consultant Mike Grisar.Through the years, the birds kept coming back.We Energies officials have been tracking the success of the program by banding the falcons."This year we`re expecting to have our 200th falcon naturally produced on our sites, which is almost 20 percent of the entire peregrine falcon population," said Grisar.This year there have been eggs laid in the nests of all 6 power plants.We Energies placed cameras in the nests to monitor the chicks, and through modern technology the utility is now able to live stream this video online for everyone to enjoy."It`s a way that all of us at home can stay connected with what`s going on in these nest boxes and follow the chicks from the time they hatch to the time they take flight for the first time," said Schulze.Watching the growth of a population we almost lost.If you're interested in watching the live stream of the peregrine falcons, CLICK HERE. 

POWER OUTAGE: Menomonee Falls customers have power restored

POWER OUTAGE: Menomonee Falls customers have power restored

MENOMONEE FALLS (WITI) -- FOX6 News has learned a power outage affecting over 2,000 customers in Menomonee Falls has been addressed.The affected customers had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. Sunday, April 27th.A We Energies outage map shows the outage occurring around Bobolink Avenue and Shawn Circle.A total of 2,432 customers were affected -- according to the We Energies outage map.This power outage began around 6:45 p.m.A We Energies spokesman says this power outage was due to an accident where a car struck a utility pole.The crash apparently occurred on Silver Spring Road east of Marcy Road.Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates.

POWER RESTORED in Brookfield area; over 3,400 affected

POWER RESTORED in Brookfield area; over 3,400 affected

BROOKFIELD (WITI) -- A We Energies spokesman has confirmed with FOX6 News that power has been restored to all customers affected by power outages Sunday afternoon, April 27th in the Brookfield area.Power was restored around 3:00 p.m.FOX6 News had a crew on scene of a power outage affecting traffic lights and businesses in Brookfield near Bluemound Road.

Power restored to nearly 4,000 We Energies customers

Power restored to nearly 4,000 We Energies customers

NEW BERLIN (WITI) -- Power has been restored to nearly 4,000 We Energies customers in parts of southern Waukesha County on Saturday morning, April 12th.The outages started around 6:30 a.m.We Energies crews were able to restore power around 8 a.m., but are still investigating what exactly caused the outages.In the meantime, you can monitor the outage by CLICKING HERE.

Power restored to thousands on city's south side, West Bend

Power restored to thousands on city's south side, West Bend

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- More than 4,000 We Energies customers were without power — mostly on Milwaukee’s south side and in West Bend — early Friday morning, March 28th.According to the We Energies Outage Map, only a handful of people are still without electricity.The cause of the outage is unknown.Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.