Leigh Creek, Hawker schools closed with power still out following last week’s wild storm

Schools and businesses in the state’s north will remain closed as townships remain without power, while BHP’s giant Olympic Dam halted for weeks.

Schools and businesses in the state’s north will remain closed and residents are feeling the pinch, four days after a massive storm left them in the dark.

Both the Leigh Creek Area School and the Hawker Area School issued notices to say the schools would be closed on Monday and Tuesday due to the power outages while businesses are still shut and residents are struggling without electricity.

A total of 39,000 customers lost power during Thursday night’s storm, as SA’s skies were lit up with 250,000 lightning strikes, with wind gusts of at least 130km/h and more than 40mm in rain.

Mining at BHP’s giant Olympic Dam facility will be halted for almost another two weeks after the massive storm knocked out power transmission lines to the area.

A spokesperson for BHP said “the majority of Olympic Dam surface plant and underground mining operations have been paused’’.

“BHP has been working closely with ElectraNet and Enerven on the scope and timing of recovery works. Based on that work, we estimate it will be approximately 14 days from the initial outage to restore power to Olympic Dam and Roxby Downs.”

The spokesperson said BHP would use the time when mining operations were halted to carry out maintenance.

“BHP will proceed with planned smelter maintenance works from this week to make productive use of the unplanned downtime,’’ the spokesperson said.

Despite being unable to continue mining operations, BHP is providing power to “Roxby Downs, Olympic Dam airport, accommodation villages and critical on-site infrastructure’’.

The storms caused significant damage to electrical infrastructure across regional towns with SA Power Networks forced to provide temporary supply solutions for customers through generators until full restoration of the damaged infrastructure is complete.

MOGAS Cookes Outback Motorsowner Kym Logan, pictured with local Jessie Evans, said the situation was dire for many of the residents. Picture: Supplied

However, not everyone is back up and running with the small town of Copley – about five kilometres north of Leigh Creek – feeling the pain of days without power.

Copley’s petrol station owner Kym Logan said the situation was dire for many of the residents.

She said the town’s pub was closed, the caravan park – which doubles as a popular bakery – was shut and many residents were struggling.

“We are day four without power and a lot of people without generators, people with medical conditions,” she said.

“It’s a horrible situation for a lot of people to be in.”

Her business – MOGAS Cookes Outback Motors – was able to operate in a small capacity but she had been forced to turn away work and running generators was proving expensive.

Mrs Logan said even for residents with generators, the going was tough.

“We run a small generator at home enough at night so I can use my machine to sleep at night and only a little bit during the day … some people might be able to keep their fridge going, others have had to chuck everything away,” she said.

Both the Leigh Creek Area School and the Hawker Area School issued notices to say the schools would be closed on Monday and Tuesday due to the power outages.

As of midday on Monday, the Hawker and Leigh Creek townships and nearby towns were still without normal power, impacting more than 600 customers.

SA Power Networks advised crews were working to restore power to customers in the state’s north via generators.

It is expected the Hawker township will be reconnected to power late on Monday, via a generator while it is expected the Leigh Creek township will be powered by generator by late Tuesday afternoon.

“Several businesses are operating as normal via generation now,” a SA Power Networks statement said.

“It may take longer to fully restore power to customers in outlying areas as we find and repair faults.

“We have teams based locally for network inspections and repairs and will continue to maintain a local response while generators are connected.

A fallen Stobie pole in Quorn. Picture: Facebook

In a statement online, the Hawker and Leigh Creek area schools announced the schools would be closed Monday and Tuesday due to the power outages, however they would reopen if power was restored.

“Staff will not be at school and all students and children are to remain home,” the statement said.

“If power is restored before Tuesday we will reopen as usual and information will be communicated to you via usual means.”

Meanwhile, some events in nearby regions have been cancelled due to the storms.

The Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network announced the upcoming Flinders Family Fun Day on October 23 and an entertainment night on October 22 were cancelled.

“We understand that the Flinders Family Fun Day and Entertainment Night are highly anticipated events, especially for the Leigh Creek and surrounding community,” the statement said.

“However, this decision has been made in consultation with Emergency Services to ensure the safety of stall holders, our staff, and the community.”

Originally published as Leigh Creek, Hawker schools closed with power still out following last week’s wild storm