Downed poles leave Yumans in dark

As they started their day, several hundred Yumans found themselves Wednesday morning without the power to run their coffee makers or hair dryers or other electrical appliances.

A report came in at 6:41 a.m. of the power outage, with three power poles and lines down in the alley between 9th and 10th avenues in the vicinity of 12th Street, said Andrea Bereznak, Yuma area spokeswoman for Arizona Public Service Co.

Initially, the power outage impacted 1,683 customers, she said. Within an hour, power was rerouted and restored to all but 22 customers.

As of Wednesday afternoon, APS crews were still working on repairs and power was expected to be restored to the remaining customers by late afternoon or early evening, she said.

The initial power outage impacted APS customers bounded by 12 Street and 24th Street between 16th and 2nd avenues, said Steven Gotfried, APS spokesman.

It's unknown what caused the downed poles and lines, he said. However, he added, it looked as if they were hit by a vehicle. There are no known witnesses.

Leanne Worthen, spokeswoman for Yuma Police Department, said officers were on the scene for a couple of hours to assist with traffic control and protect the area for the safety of the public and the APS workers.