Exclusive: Evergy Senior Communications Manager Details Salina Grid Rebuild, Shares Stats on Poles, Transformers and Miles of Line Replaced

Evergy says the June 8 storm that moved slowly along I-70 caused some of the most severe power damage in the Salina area, knocking out power across the city and forcing crews to rebuild large sections of the local electric grid.

Kaley Sturgeon, Evergy senior communications manager, told Salina311 that storms moved eastward along I-70 on the evening of June 8 and continued overnight, creating major outages across Evergy’s service area.

“The most extreme damage was in Salina where the entire city was without power for a period overnight,” Sturgeon told Salina311.

According to Evergy, crews restored power to 46,000 customers in the Salina area over the course of the storm response. Sturgeon said some customers lost power more than once because of the size and complexity of the storm system.

“In storms of this magnitude, we have instances where the same customers may lose power more than once,” Sturgeon said.

Evergy said winds reached up to 115 mph, causing extensive damage to the local power grid. The damage included snapped poles and downed power lines.

The restoration work was interrupted Wednesday evening when another round of storms moved through the area. Evergy said that second system was weaker but still caused new outages and slowed ongoing restoration work.

Over the course of the week, Evergy crews and contractors rebuilt large portions of the Salina-area grid. According to Sturgeon, crews replaced more than 500 poles, including both wood and steel poles, along with 100 transformers and 30 miles of powerline cable.

Evergy said approximately 700 lineworkers were deployed as part of the restoration effort. Crews included Evergy workers and contractors from Missouri and other parts of Kansas.

“Evergy crews and contractors from Missouri and areas of Kansas, including 700 lineworkers, were deployed to restore power in Salina, working around the clock until all customers were restored,” Sturgeon said.

The storm damage also created logistical challenges for the restoration crews. Evergy said most hotels in Salina were without power, meaning many workers had to stay outside the city.

“The majority of the hotels in Salina were without power so crews stayed in McPherson or Wichita,” Sturgeon said. “Those based in nearby communities travelled back and forth from their home locations.”

The June 8 storm left widespread damage across Salina, with downed trees, damaged infrastructure, blocked roads, and extended outages affecting homes, businesses, public buildings, and emergency response operations.

Evergy said the scale of the damage required a full grid restoration effort, not just routine outage repair.