Fallen utility poles in South Anchorage closed the Old Seward Highway for much of the day Tuesday morning and briefly left more than 3,100 people without power as Election Day arrived.

Police dispatchers received multiple calls about a utility pole and wire blocking the highway between 64th and 66th avenues, department spokeswoman Amanda Brimanis said. Officers found at least three fallen poles, Brimanis said. The cause was not initially known, she said.

Chugach Electric crews were dispatched to a report of downed lines near 64th Avenue around 6:45 a.m., the company wrote online. More than 1,400 customers near Dowling Road were without power for about an hour early Tuesday and another 1,600 near Spenard.

It was not immediately clear what caused the poles to fall.

Julie Hasquet, a spokeswoman for Chugach Electric, said crews isolated the area where poles and lines were down and restored power to a nearby substation, restoring power to surrounding homes and businesses that experienced outages , was restored.

The road reopened shortly after 3:30 p.m., said Shelly Wozniak, an Anchorage police spokeswoman.

Strong winds were blowing in Anchorage early Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning for Anchorage early Tuesday through noon. The warning said east to southwest winds were forecast at 30 to 50 miles per hour, with gusts up to 75 miles per hour. Gusts could be stronger in the Upper Potter Valley and Bear Valley, it said.

Around 1 a.m. the winds began to increase, and within a few hours a gust of 71 mph was recorded in Portage, a gust of 60 mph near Bird Point, and a gust of 54 mph in Rabbit Creek, said Tracen Knopp, a meteorologist at The Weather Service. Just after noon, gusts of 59 mph were reported at Potter Ridge, 53 mph at Glen Alps and 43 mph at O'Malley, meteorologist Michael Kutz said.

Parts of the Kenai Peninsula experienced snow and wind, including Turnagain Pass.