A semi truck hauling a piece of forestry equipment clipped a Spectrum cable line along Myrtle Street Wednesday morning, June 15, leading to a chain reaction that also involved a power line and power pole, causing a citywide power outage that lasted just a few seconds for most people but extended for about a half an hour for around 1,000.

It happened around 8:15 a.m.

When the equipment snagged the Spectrum cable, an Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative power line also became entangled, and the force snapped a wooden power pole on Eighth Street just north of Myrtle, said Baker City Police Sgt. Mike Regan.

The driver, whose name wasn’t available, was not hurt, Regan said.

The highest point of the truck’s load was measured at 13 feet, 2 inches, Regan said.

Power lines are higher than that — at least 15 feet, 6 inches above the street — but other utility cables, such as Spectrum’s, can be lower.

As of 10:45 a.m., eight customers were still without power. Joe Hathaway, communications manager for Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative, said a crew was working to replace the pole, which should be done later today.

He said it’s likely that the power blip affected the entire city because a transmission line runs along Myrtle. Although that line wasn’t damaged, the force that damaged the pole could have caused a jolt to the transmission line that tripped the breaker at the Elm Street substation.