Aug. 5--Dorothy Ask of Langford takes great, renewed pleasure this week in something simple.

"I am going to savor this for a little while, every time I flip a switch for the lights or the air conditioner," Ask said Monday. "We didn't realize how much we take electricity for granted."

On Thursday morning, winds of up to 100-plus mph knocked out electrical service in many parts of northeast South Dakota. Power was fully restored in Langford about 4 p.m. Saturday, said Ask, the city finance officer.

"Finally," she said.

Juice is flowing again for about 90 percent of Northwestern Energy's customers in Webster, Tom Glanzer of the company said Friday afternoon. Webster was one of the hardest-hit towns for storm damage to buildings, trees and power lines.

The remaining restoration in Webster was expected by the end of Monday, Glanzer said. Northwestern was waiting for electricians to repair wiring in damaged houses before power could be brought back to them, he said.

Otter Tail Power Co. got most of its customers out of the dark by Saturday night, said spokeswoman Cris Kling. Otter Tail, too, was waiting for electricians to repair a few homes. Otter Tail serves Waubay, another hard-hit town.

The company dealt with the aftermath of winds that clocked in at 118 mph in Otter Tail's service area, Kling said.

Roslyn has electricity again, said Steve Schmidt, owner of Roslyn Elevator. It sustained what was probably the worst damage in town, Schmidt said. The elevator lost five steel bins.

Crops are seriously damaged in the Roslyn/Grenville area, and in some places are "pretty much gone," he said.

Power is back for everyone served by Northern Electric Cooperative, said spokesman Mike Kelly. The co-op with offices in rural Bath had about 600 customers without power.

Extra challenge: Glanzer said one of Northwestern's biggest challenges was to repair a double-pole structure in water just east of the James River and about a mile south of U.S. Highway 12. The structure is part of Aberdeen-to-Webster transmission lines.

"We had to go through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," Glanzer said. "It was a pretty impressive deal."

He's also impressed with repair crews' dedication. They worked through the weekend as well as on Thursday and Friday, he said.

"We would try to get them out of there about 8:30 at night when the sun started to go down, but they would get mad at us."

Tree update: As of Monday afternoon, 190 dump truck loads of downed trees and branches had been hauled away from the lawns and streets of Langford, a town with about 290 residents.

"We probably have 90 loads left," Ask said.

Even so, Langford still has trees, she said.

She and her husband saw firsthand some of the trees and branches fall. The Asks left their home shortly after 4 a.m. Thursday to deliver newspapers around town, with nothing but a sprinkle coming gently down, she said. At the eighth house on the route, the wind hit.

"We could hardly get our van door shut," Ask said. "The van just shook. You wouldn't believe how it shook."

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Story Source: American News (Aberdeen, S.D.)