Arizona Power Outages: 120K In Dark From 70 MPH Monsoon Winds

PHOENIX, AZ — Monsoon winds Monday night left about 120,000 people in the dark in and around Phoenix. About 80,000 APS customers found themselves with no power overnight, as well as another 42,000 for Salt River Project. As of Tuesday morning, APS crews had worked to restore power to most of those affected, with just 9,000 still in the dark. APS said in a tweet that "70+ MPH monsoon winds caused major damage."

"We appreciate your patience as we work to get all restored."

The National Weather Service said winds reached 74 mph in parts of Maricopa County, including at Glendale Municipal Airport and Phoenix Deer Valley Airport. Photos posted on social media showed multiple massive trees toppled and laying dangerously on power lines. A large pine tree was completely uprooted near 9th Avenue and Cochise Drive in Phoenix's North Mountain Village section. Some utility poles even cracked overnight and threatened to fall over.

APS said residential customers affected by the outage can send in receipts to be reimbursed for up to 40 pounds of wet ice — or 20 pounds of dry ice — to help preserve perishables. P

Salt River Project said the storm affected customers mostly in Phoenix, Tolleson, Avondale, Peoria, and the southeastern section of the Valley. On Tuesday morning, that number appeared to be down to the low thousands.

The National Weather Service also warned the storms might not be done yet.

"Can't rule out storms again in Phoenix but activity should be less than Monday's intense round of convection," the Phoenix center tweeted. "Storms likely to be confined to high terrain areas east of Phoenix for the most part."

Here are useful numbers you might need in an emergency:

• Life threatening emergencies: 911
• Non-emergency police assistance: 602-262-6151
• Report street issues: 602-262-6441
• Report traffic signal outages: 602-262-6021
• Storm debris information: 602-262-6251
• Report power outage APS: 855-688-2437
• Report power outage SRP: 602-236-8811
• American Red Cross: 800-842-7349
• Heat relief network: 602-534-0543

We are now down to 9,000 customers out as our crews continue to work non-stop until all customers are restored. Please check https://t.co/5krJSvqD1F for updates, ice reimbursement information and/or to report an outage. Thanks for your patience! #Monsoon2018 #azwx pic.twitter.com/4hQ8vhrdXn
— APS (@apsFYI) July 31, 2018

Another uprooted tree! Large pine down near 9th Ave & Cochise. Homeowner was home last night but thankfully not hurt. #azfamily pic.twitter.com/lpqyv8Ufim
— Kylee Cruz (@KyleeCruzTV) July 31, 2018

Photo credit: Shutterstock