Downed power lines caused brief power outages on Election Day and closed the Old Seward Highway.

Damaged power poles in South Anchorage closed the Old Seward Highway for much of the day Tuesday morning and briefly left more than 3,100 people without power as Election Day dawned.

Police dispatchers received several calls about a power pole, a downed power line and a highway closure between 64th and 66th Avenues, according to department spokeswoman Amanda Brimanis. Officers found at least three poles, Brimanis said. The cause was not immediately known, she said.

Chugach Electric crews were dispatched to a report of downed wires in the area of ​​64th Avenue around 6:45 a.m., the company wrote. online. More than 1,400 customers were without power near Dowling Road, and another 1,600 were without power near Spenard for about an hour early Tuesday morning.

It was not immediately clear what caused the poles to topple.

Julie Haske, a spokeswoman for Chugach Electric, said crews isolated the area where poles and lines were down and restored power to a nearby substation, which restored power to nearby homes and businesses where the outages occurred.

The road reopened just after 3:30 p.m., said Shelley Wozniak, spokeswoman for the Anchorage Police Department.

Strong winds hit Anchorage early Tuesday morning.

The National Weather Service issued a message high wind warning to Anchorage early Tuesday before noon. Winds from the east to southwest are forecast at 30 to 50 mph with gusts up to 75 mph, the warning said. Gusts could be stronger in the Upper Potter Valley and Bear Valley, the department said.

Winds began picking up around 1 a.m., and within hours a 71 mph gust was recorded in Portage, a 60 mph gust was recorded near Bird Point and a 54 mph gust was recorded at Rabbit Creek, Tracen said. Knopp, a meteorologist with the weather service. Just after noon, wind gusts of 59 mph were recorded at Potter Ridge, 53 mph at Glen Alps and 43 mph at O’Malley, meteorologist Michael Kutz said.

Parts of the Kenai Peninsula experienced snow and wind conditions, including Turnagain Pass.