The last time we lost power, the power initially went out when a tree fell on a line back in the swamp. It was during a big storm, so the power company wasn't able to get to it for a few hours. Then, before they could get to it, a vehicle crash took out some equipment (probably a pole) on the distribution system, so that took priority. Replacing that equipment took a few hours, then the power company came back to work on the tree issue. However, the cross arms are so rotten that the tree pulled the line and insulators off the arms for quite a distance. So, that took a while longer. All in all, we didn't have power for almost two days.
We have an intersection that is very tight for trucks making a right turn. Every few years, a truck will take the corner too wide and bust off the power pole. That blows a fuse on the line coming into town, so it shuts the town down for a few hours until the pole is replaced.
Quite often we will just lose one phase. Its not unusual for part of your building to be out and the rest lit! Or to see some houses with power and some without. I see this at work quite often where we have three phase power. Where I live in the country, we just have single phase.
The other issue is that whenever the power has to be shut off somewhere in town, the power company has to throw the "big switch" where the main line comes into town. There isn't much else to sectionalize the power feed where I live. I've always wanted to cut the padlock and throw that big lever myself just to watch the whole town go out!