{
  "id": "2025-12-10-university-of-montana-power-outage",
  "slug": "university-of-montana-power-outage-2025-12-10",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Montana",
    "shortName": "UM",
    "state": "MT",
    "type": "public-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "UM Alert",
    "enrollment": 9800
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-12-10",
    "type": "power-outage",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "High Winds Topple Power Lines Along the Kim Williams Trail, Darkening the Whole Campus for Nearly Three Hours",
    "summary": "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](https://www.kpax.com/news/missoula-county/lights-out-in-missoula-power-outages-hit-um-campus), cutting power to the entire campus. [UM Police issued an emergency notification at 5:41 p.m.](https://www.kpax.com/news/missoula-county/university-of-montana-campus-goes-dark) as crews worked through the evening, and the outage [delayed the first-ever UM versus Salish Kootenai College men's basketball game](https://www.montanakaimin.com/news/university-of-montana-campus-loses-power-basketball-game-expected-to-continue/article_94949f77-ba85-4e18-9d43-82ef8df38dc0.html) by nearly two hours before power was restored that night."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2025-12-10T17:41:00-07:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "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.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.kpax.com/news/missoula-county/university-of-montana-campus-goes-dark",
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed 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 issues",
      "annotations": [
        "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"
      ],
      "characterCount": 242
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Between approximately 8:14 and 8:41 PM MST on December 10, 2025, as power came back online across campus",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "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.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/power-outage-on-um-campus",
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed 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 minute",
      "annotations": [
        "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"
      ],
      "characterCount": 158
    }
  ],
  "context": "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](https://www.kpax.com/news/missoula-county/lights-out-in-missoula-power-outages-hit-um-campus) 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.](https://www.kpax.com/news/missoula-county/university-of-montana-campus-goes-dark) 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](https://www.montanakaimin.com/news/university-of-montana-campus-loses-power-basketball-game-expected-to-continue/article_94949f77-ba85-4e18-9d43-82ef8df38dc0.html) 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.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "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"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": 11,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Lights out in Missoula: Power outages hit UM campus (KPAX)",
      "url": "https://www.kpax.com/news/missoula-county/lights-out-in-missoula-power-outages-hit-um-campus",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Lights back on at the University of Montana after power outage (KPAX)",
      "url": "https://www.kpax.com/news/missoula-county/university-of-montana-campus-goes-dark",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "University of Montana campus loses power, basketball game expected to continue (Montana Kaimin)",
      "url": "https://www.montanakaimin.com/news/university-of-montana-campus-loses-power-basketball-game-expected-to-continue/article_94949f77-ba85-4e18-9d43-82ef8df38dc0.html",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Power restored at UM after major outage (NBC Montana)",
      "url": "https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/power-outage-on-um-campus",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UM Alerts | University of Montana",
      "url": "https://www.umt.edu/police/um-alerts/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "power-outage",
    "montana",
    "high-winds",
    "downed-power-lines",
    "missoula",
    "infrastructure-failure",
    "winter",
    "athletics-disruption"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-07-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-03",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}