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POWER OUTAGE
On July 27, 2000, while working on the Close to Home pages of this website, an unexpected storm blew into our neighborhood at about 6:30 p.m. After hearing a strange cracking sound my wife and I went outside to investigate. Soon our electric power went out. I hurried back to my computer to save everything and shut it down. My UPS (uninterrupted power supply) gives me about five minutes to do this on battery power.
We then heard sirens and the fire trucks stopped just a couple of blocks away. High winds had blown down a half-mile stretch of transmission lines. Within an hour, an army of power company workers began to arrive and worked through the night. Power came back on at about 2 a.m. and repairs were completed the next day.
Aerial view of the neighborhood, looking south.
Radar image of storm.
Red shows areas of heaviest rainfall.
TUS = Tucson
EMX = Radar Station
DUG = Douglas
Mexico is at the bottom of the image.
Arizona Daily Star, Friday, July 28, 2000 - A powerful storm pounded the area between Ajo Way and West Valencia Road west of Interstate 19, knocking out power to two Tucson Electric Power Co. substations, said spokeswoman Wendy Erica Werden. All nine utility poles on South Camino de la Tierra from Valencia to West Bilby Road were knocked down, she said. The road was closed about 6:30 p.m. and was not expected to be opened until today. The closure left residents of an apartment complex on Camino de la Tierra just north of Valencia stranded for much of the night, as TEP crews worked to put up replacement utility poles.
The Drexel Heights Fire Department set up a road block
at the intersection of Bilby and Camino de la Tierra
Tucson Electric Power arrives to begin repairs.
The next day: View from Bilby Road looking south.
Hold mouse point over the image to view the other side of the hill
looking down to Valencia Road
Crews use sophisticated equipment to repair the lines.
Power-failure tips (Courtesy of the Arizona Daily Star)
* Keep an emergency "monsoon kit," including flashlights.
* Monitor a battery-operated radio for outage updates.
* Avoid using heavy appliances, which can add to stress on temporary power systems.
* Temporarily turn off swimming pool pumps and other large equipment.
* Set your thermostat a little higher to reduce stress on the system.
* Turn off and unplug computers and other delicate electronics that can be damaged by lightning or electrical surges as power is restored.
* Stay clear of downed power lines.
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