Campus Alert Archive
UM

High Winds Topple Power Lines Along the Kim Williams Trail, Darkening the Whole Campus for Nearly Three Hours

AI-generated · every claim is source-linked
MTpower outageemergency notificationmedium confidence

High winds hitting the Missoula Valley around 5:30 p.m. on December 10, 2025 toppled power lines and blew a transformer near the Kim Williams Trail on the University of Montana campus, cutting power to the entire campus. UM Police issued an emergency notification at 5:41 p.m. as crews worked through the evening, and the outage delayed the first-ever UM versus Salish Kootenai College men's basketball game by nearly two hours before power was restored that night.

Alerts
2
Response
11 min
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of Montana
Public R2 · MT
~9,800 studentsUM Alert
Official alert policy
Read when and how UM says it will use UM Alert — summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from KPAX reporting that UMPD issued an emergency notification at 5:41 p.m. of the ongoing outage, with no restoration timeline and no foreseen significant safety issues242 chars
UM Alert: UM is experiencing a power outage affecting the entirety of campus. There is currently no timeline for restoration. UMPD does not foresee significant safety issues at this time. Further updates will follow as the situation develops.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Issued 11 minutes after high winds around 5:30 p.m. began toppling power lines and blowing a transformer near the Kim Williams Trail on campus
UMPD's assessment that it 'did not foresee any significant safety issues' is a notable reassurance for a campus-wide outage message, distinguishing a weather-driven infrastructure failure from an active threat
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from KPAX and NBC Montana reporting; KPAX reported campus was dark from 5:36 to 8:14 p.m., while UM's Director of Strategic Communication confirmed power was fully restored, sources differ slightly on the exact minute158 chars
UM Alert: Power has been restored to the University of Montana campus. UMPD does not anticipate further disruptions this evening. Thank you for your patience.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The nearly three-hour outage delayed the tip-off of the first-ever UM versus Salish Kootenai College men's basketball game by close to two hours
Local outlets reported slightly different restoration times (roughly 8:14 p.m. per KPAX's campus timeline versus a later confirmation from UM's communications office), reflecting the gradual, section-by-section nature of storm-damage power restoration rather than a single instant
Context

Background

High winds swept through the Missoula Valley starting around 5:30 p.m. on December 10, 2025, toppling multiple power line poles and blowing a transformer along the Kim Williams Trail on the University of Montana campus, with some trees catching fire near Jacob's Island Dog Park. The University of Montana Police Department issued an emergency notification at 5:41 p.m. alerting the campus to the outage, and NorthWestern Energy crews worked through the evening on repairs. The outage also knocked out traffic lights and businesses along East Broadway in downtown Missoula. Because the outage struck during the winter athletic season, it delayed the tip-off of the first-ever men's basketball meeting between UM and Salish Kootenai College by nearly two hours. Power was restored to campus that same evening, with UM's communications office confirming full restoration and no anticipated further disruptions. No injuries were reported.
Analysis

Key Findings

A weather-driven infrastructure failure (toppled power lines, a blown transformer) knocked out power to the University of Montana's entire campus for close to three hours
UMPD's initial alert explicitly reassured the campus that no significant safety issues were foreseen, a message calibrated differently than an active-threat notification even though it went to the whole campus
The outage's effects extended beyond campus operations into a scheduled sporting event, delaying a first-ever men's basketball matchup by nearly two hours
Local news accounts diverge slightly on the exact restoration time, a reminder that storm power restoration is typically incremental rather than instantaneous, complicating precise all-clear timestamps
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Lights out in Missoula: Power outages hit UM campus (KPAX)
    kpax.com
    archived copy
  2. News
    Lights back on at the University of Montana after power outage (KPAX)
    kpax.com
    archived copy
  3. Student Paper
    University of Montana campus loses power, basketball game expected to continue (Montana Kaimin)
    montanakaimin.com
    archived copy
  4. News
    Power restored at UM after major outage (NBC Montana)
    nbcmontana.com
    archived copy
  5. Official
    UM Alerts | University of Montana
    umt.edu
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "University of Montana: High Winds Topple Power Lines Along the Kim Williams Trail, Darkening the Whole Campus for Nearly Three Hours." Incident of December 10, 2025. Added July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/university-of-montana-power-outage-2025-12-10/

Download case JSON

Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
power-outagemontanahigh-windsdowned-power-linesmissoulainfrastructure-failurewinterathletics-disruption
Added July 2026Updated July 2026Via ingestion