Amador County – Kirkwood Mountain Resort was closed Saturday when a powerhouse fire knocked out by a late afternoon fire on New Year’s Day. The fire broke out in the Mountain Utilities powerhouse, leaving Kirkwood Resort without electricity and the resort could not open Saturday January 2nd. Power was also lost to the surrounding community, but all power was restored late Saturday. The utility company brought in a portable power supply equal to approximately 3 times the necessary power needed to operate the resort. Kirkwood spokeswoman Julie Koster said while the power distribution system was in tact and power was available, the problem existed with connecting the power source to the distribution system. Utility officials worked throughout the morning to connect the power supply and distribution system, hoping to restore power to both the community and the resort at some point Saturday. Electrical power was restored to Kirkwood Mountain Resort as of 4 p.m. Saturday, with the successful installation of new generators at the Mountain Utilities power house. Koster in a release Saturday said that Kirkwood Resort was expected to open with full resort operations including all chair lifts, restaurants, and resort amenities on Sunday. Kirkwood vice president Tim Cohee told ABC News 10 of Sacramento that “a hot filter started the fire on the roof of an Alpine County utilities building power plant around 2 p.m. Friday.” The blaze knocked out power to the resort’s lifts, forcing Saturday’s closure. Cohee said “as soon as the Kirkwood personnel saw the heavy smoke coming from the building, they got everyone off the lifts safely before the power went out.” News 10 said Fire crews including Kirkwood Volunteer Fire, Lake Valley Fire and Amador Fire kept the blaze contained to the building. Cohee said “the generator next to the building was saved and suffered no damage,” and no one was injured in the fire. For continued updates, visit www.kirkwood.com or call 877-KIRKWOOD. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.