UPDATE — December 3, 2022, 8:33 p.m.

Further reports from the Hettinger County Sheriff’s Office have reported that the power outage was caused by a small single propeller prop engine plane that made a hard landing in an open field east of Regent. The three occupants of the vehicle were transported to a nearby hospital with minor injuries. No further comments will be made by the office until the investigation is complete.

UPDATE — December 3, 2022, 7:01 p.m.

According to the Hettinger County Sheriff’s Office’s Sgt. Kennedy Pippenger, there is currently no further information at the time regarding the public concern stating the downed power lines and outages are due to a plane crash.

ORIGINAL STORY — Posted December 3, 2022, 6:54 p.m.

MOTT, N.D. (KXNET) — The Hettinger County Sheriff’s Office has warned all individuals to steer clear of the Enchanted Highway this evening.

According to the HCSO, downed power lines have been reported across the Enchanted Highway, just north of Regent. In order to minimize the need to travel the area, they are advising all individuals to take Highways 8 or 22 in order to travel north or south. Highway 21 is unaffected, and Regent may be entered from Highway 21.

We were able to speak with Sergeant Kennedy Pippenger from the HSCO, who stated that for now, everyone must take alternate routes. We are currently working to confirm or deny that the lines are down due to a plane crash.

This is an ongoing investigation, and KX will continue to update this page as more information is released. The original Facebook post is available here.