Following the recent power outage in north-central Montana caused during the blizzard conditions March 19, the local coordinator for the state Disaster and Emergency Services is urging people to make sure they connect generators properly if they use one during an outage.

Hill County DES Coordinator Joe Parenteau said people need to make sure things are properly set up, or it could backfeed into the power grid and cause more problems, including starting fires or possibly injuring people working on what they think is a line with no power.

“It’s very critical that they do that properly so they’re not backfeeding power out through the system, ” he said.

People need to make sure their connection is disconnected from the grid before they fire up a generator, Parenteau said.