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Power outages across Wisconsin affect thousands of residents after heavy snowfall

Outages could last into Friday morning in northern parts of the state

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A man uses a snowblower to clear the sidewalk. There's a considerable amount of snow on the ground.
A man uses a snowblower to clear the sidewalk outside the Durham Memorial A.M.E Zion Church on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. A dangerous lake-effect snowstorm paralyzed parts of western and northern New York, with nearly 2 feet of snow already on the ground in some places and possibly much more on the way. Joshua Bessex/AP Photo

Tens of thousands of residents in northern Wisconsin were without power Thursday morning after a winter storm dropped more than a foot of heavy, wet snow in some areas.

Xcel Energy reported more than 30,000 customers were without power in northwestern Wisconsin as of 8 a.m.

Xcell spokesperson Chris Oullette said the snow caused extensive damage to trees, poles and power lines — with the biggest outages near Rice Lake and Hayward. The company is sending caravans of plows and utility trucks to remote areas and workers on the ground said outages could stretch into Friday.

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Wisconsin Public Service reported more than 9,000 customers without power in northern Wisconsin as of 10 a.m.

We Energies also reported around 1,000 customers without power this morning in areas near Milwaukee, Green Bay and far northeastern Wisconsin.

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