Power restored to Eloy residents days after monsoon storm
ELOY, Ariz. - Officials say power has been restored to residents in Eloy after a powerful Sunday night monsoon storm caused severe damage in the area.
"It started off a red storm. The whole sky was red," said Blake Ramirez, who lives in the area. "Next thing you know, everything went black, and rain everywhere."
A day later, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency.
"The Pinal County Board of Supervisors has declared a State of Emergency related to this week's storm damage and power outages in Eloy and Arizona City. This follows the City of Eloy declaring a State of Emergency yesterday," the county said in a July 19 tweet.
The storm knocked down power lines in the area, with some power poles snapping in half.
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"We have even some of those that were knocked down, and those take a little bit longer to get back up and specialized crews, so we are working through it," said Richard Rosales with APS.
In town on July 18, many businesses were shut down, from gas stations to restaurants, as many areas were left without power and struggled to keep cool.
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Eloy's mayor, Micah Powell, said it is very emotional to see the people of his town struggling. Powell and his family are also without power.
"90% of our community is out of power, and with the extended amount of time, that’s what’s hard about it," said Mayor Powell. "There is no ETA. It could be longer. It could be shorter."
On July 18, cooling stations and an ice pick-up location at Eloy’s city hall were packed with desperate residents looking for a way to cool down. More ice had to be brought in from Chandler to help meet the demand, as the existing supply ran out shortly after 3:00 p.m.
Many residents were forced to leave town and find hotel rooms for the night.
"You can’t think smart if your brain is going crazy, so we are trying to be resourceful and as calm as possible, and, you know, just use our resources. The city has provided dry ice for the refrigerators and the freezers," said Ramirez.
Carl Strong says the return of power can’t come soon enough. He’s one of the thousands without electricity.
His Eloy home heated up to 105 degrees Tuesday. He’s concerned because he has medical needs and equipment that he can’t run without power.
He said he doesn’t have money to get anywhere or go to a motel, so he’s just waiting.
"We got a lot of rain, a lot of wind, and I figured, well it will come on in a few hours because it does that, you know, monsoon. Well here it is Tuesday, and still no power," Strong said. "I have a heart monitor machine not working. So I’ve basically had 3 hours of sleep since this all has happened."
Despite getting dry ice and bags of ice, his food is all spoiled.
You can donate to United Way of Pinal County here.