CLIMAX, N.C.-- Thousands of people in Guilford and Randolph Counties are without power after a transmission line snapped.
Duke Energy says a tree fell on the 60 foot line.
Thousands are affected by just one outage because the transmission line serves multiple communities. Duke Energy went so far as the call is the "backbone of our system."
Getting the power restored is no easy task. The pole is hundreds of feet from the road. Crews had to use a bulldozer to get their equipment to the broken pole.
Once the pole gets replaced, crews will have to check other parts like the insulators and connectors to make sure there is no other damage before they can re-energize the line.
Duke Energy expects to have power restored by 1 a.m. Friday.