Update: Rocky Mountain Power Spokesman David Eskelsen said RMP was able to successfully reroute power through a different channel to keep Laramie customers power on during the pole replacement. Eskelsen said a lightning strike at about 2 p.m. took a power wire down, causing a separate outage affecting 4,900 customers until 2:45 p.m. Eskelsen said RMP hopes to have the pole replaced by 5 p.m. today.

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Original story: Rocky Mountain Power has scheduled an emergency power interruption for Laramie to take place from 12:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. today in order to repair damage caused by a pole fire.

Rocky Mountain Power said the interruption will affect 5,300 customers in Laramie. Rocky Mountain Power advises customers to unplug sensitive electronics.

Rocky Mountain Power Spokesman David Eskelsen said the outage will affect the western portion of Laramie, including the University of Wyoming and the downtown area. Eskelsen said Ivinson Memorial Hospital will not be affected.

Eskelsen said crews will have to replace the pole, which is located north of Laramie near the Laramie substation. He said RMP is trying to make the outage as small as possible by switching electricity to an alternate path, but that it may still affect the full 5,300 cutsomers.

Eskelsen said the outage will affect the western portion of Laramie, including the University of Wyoming and the downtown area.

We will update this story as information becomes available.

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