Alabama’s unpredictable weather wrote a new chapter Tuesday evening, when an unnamed storm brought high winds and heavy rain to Birmingham and vicinity.

Alabama Power crews working to repair poles and cables at Sanders Road in Bluff Park in Hoover, AL.

At the storm’s peak, about 115,000 Alabama Power customers were affected by outages. By 6 p.m. Thursday, that number was down to 304. Alabama Power linemen were joined by crews from Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and neighboring utilities around the southeast to respond quickly to all calls.

Especially hard-hit were areas with steep terrain and dense forest such as Mountain Brook and Bluff Park. Utility poles are often dwarfed by surrounding trees, their lines within easy reach of rogue branches.

In at least one case, at Sanders Road in Bluff Park, an entire pole was snapped.

Following the call, Alabama Power dispatched three bucket trucks, their elbow-jointed booms reaching 50 feet or higher, to assess and fix the problem.

There was one complication: The shattered pole was located in a deep ravine by the side of the road.

“This is what Alabama Power plans for,” said spokesman Ike Pigott. “It’s our job to ensure the safety of our crews and the public. And we will take the necessary precautions.”

The crews first had to replace the broken pole. They dug a hole and set the new pole higher up in the ravine. They also did additional work on an adjacent pole while other linemen handled traffic control.

Finally, they used their bucket trucks to “resag” the primary conductors and restore service to customers in the area by noon Thursday.

“Some distribution wires run on relatively flat ground, clear of any bushes and branches,” said Pigott. “This was not the case in Bluff Park. Every incident is unique, and we feel our linemen are second to none in handling these challenges. They work quickly and safely, with a lot of creativity.”

Alabama Power crews working to repair poles and cables at Sanders Road in Bluff Park in Hoover, AL.