Vt. utility says rains caused Montpelier outage

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Vermont's largest electric utility says soggy ground from ongoing rains caused a tree to topple onto a power line in Montpelier, leaving 1,155 customers in the dark.

Green Mountain Power spokeswoman Dorothy Schnure says a tree toppled across a street and onto a power line on Mountain View Drive in Montpelier just before 9:30 a.m. Friday, snapping a utility pole and cutting power.

Line crews re-routed power and restored electricity to most of the affected customers in just over an hour.

But she says three customers closest to the pole won't get their power back until a new pole has been set in place.