Blomkest residents had cold night without electricity

BLOMKEST - It was a cold night in Blomkest as residents experienced a power outage that lasted for about seven hours.

The outage happened Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as sub-zero temperatures and howling winds pounded the state in a late-March snow storm.

"It was cold in the house," said Mary Gauerke, of the long night without heat.

Gauerke and her husband, the Rev. Ken Gauerke, live in the parsonage of the Blomkest Baptist Church.

The power flickered a number of times and then shut down for good at 10:15 p.m., she said. It was 50 degrees in the house at 1 a.m. She "didn't have the nerve to look" how cold it was when the power was finally restored around 5 a.m. by Xcel Energy crews.

Gauerke said she slept with a jacket over a sweater to keep warm. They also kept faucets running during the night to prevent frozen pipes.

No word on whether anyone experienced serious problems during the outage.

"The whole town was dark, so I know it affected all of us," she said.

A call to Xcel Energy was not immediately returned.