San Luis power restored but repairs ongoing

Updated 10:30 a.m. Friday - Every customer who lost power in San Luis because of the electrical storm that rolled through Yuma County Thursday is back on line, according to Arizona Public Service.

"We're still making repairs," Damon Gross, APS spokesman said. "If customers can conserve energy it will help us to avoid outages."

Yet there are probably still 50 to 60 customers without power in more remote areas of the county, Gross noted. One repair crew each was brought in from Phoenix and Casa Grande, where there was also some damage, to help Yuma County, he added.

APS repair crews are expected to continue work through Friday evening. Some rolling blackouts with service loss up to a half hour may periodically occur until 10 p.m., APS cautioned.

Dry ice was to be distributed this morning to San Luis, Ariz., residents to help deal with outages and possible rolling blackouts. City hall and schools in San Luis, Ariz., were closed Friday.

Up to 75 percent of San Luis was without power at various times Thursday evening after heavy winds knocked down an undetermined number of power poles.

Beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, dry ice and water was to be distributed from a site behind the Fernando Padilla Community Center to residents to keep perishables cool, as well as information on how to use and handle the ice. The ice and water was provided by APS.

Mayor Juan Carlos Escamilla declared a state of emergency for the city Thursday night, citing power outages in San Luis and the need to provide services to residents affected by the storm.

The city continued to provide police and fire protection Friday, but all other city offices were closed while work continued to restore power, the city said in a news release.

To report emergencies in San Luis, call 911. For police non-emergency calls, call 341-2420.

"Today, we continue to help residents that suffered through the power outage. We want to make sure they're safe and cool. Our city crews are also still out in force helping our residents. We will continue to go door-to-door to ensure residents in the area have the support they need. I am extremely proud of the city employees who have worked around the clock to get us back to normal," said Escamilla.

A Shelter was set up for residents at Gadsden Elementary School, although many residents were seen leaving for Mexico or for Yuma. Residents could also seek relief at the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center at Main Street and Juan Sanchez Boulevard and Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the 1200 block of 10th Avenue welcome anyone in need, according to Officer Ernie Lugo of the San Luis Police Department.

In order to protect our residents from the possibility of rotating outages, APS advised customers to conserve energy, by using the least amount of energy as possible on Friday, as APS worked to get power fully restored.