8K remain without power in Bullhead City after Sunday storm
About 8,000 residents of Bullhead City, Arizona, remained without power late Monday afternon after a severe Sunday thunderstorm with powerful winds roared through, toppling many of the city’s power poles, authorities said.
Originally, 36,000 people were without power after at least 50 poles were downed, according to Mohave Electric Cooperative.
The cooperative said a microburst of about 80 mph was reported during the storm, adding that one of the major problems was the main transmission line of 230kv becoming disconnected from the rest of the system.
That line has now been reconnected, allowing several substations to be re-energized quickly, MEC said.
Crews plan to work into Monday night in an effort to get power restored to all customers.
Last night with wind microbursts reporting over 80 mph, the storm left more than 36,000 residents without power for 20 hours. Currently, there are 8,000 members remaining without power, with crews continuing to work through the night to restore power. pic.twitter.com/Esje9ky2ar
— Mohave Electric Cooperative (@MohaveElectric) September 5, 2022
They said it could take until Monday night to repair all of the damaged power distribution poles that run along a transmission provider line that also was knocked down and have electricity fully restored.
There were also reports of water outages in several neighborhoods on Monday, according to a tweet from the city. The city asked residents to conserve water until the power is fully restored.
⚠️Severe damage from the thunderstorm has caused a city-wide power outage. MEC crews are working on repairing damaged power poles & restoring power.
Please do not call our 911 center regarding power outages. Try to avoid the roads as crews are out working to clean up debris.
— BHCPD (@BhcpdNews) September 5, 2022
Bullhead City, about 100 miles south of Las Vegas, was hit by the storm at about 6:30 p.m., the electric cooperative said in a statement.
The National Weather Service showed a high temperature of 111 shortly before a gust of 20 mph when the power was knocked out at the airport around 6:10 p.m.
It will take “more than 12 hours to start restoring power, with the latest restoration lasting greater than 24 hours,” the electric cooperative’s statement said.
Shelters to help keep people cool had opened at Sunrise Elementary School, at 2645 Landon Drive, and at Mohave Valley Fire Station #81 at 1450 Willow Drive in Mohave Valley.
Meteorologist Andy Gorelow of the Las Vegas office of the National Weather Service said gusts of up to 60 mph were felt along the Colorado River from Lake Havasu to Laughlin.
Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com or 561-324-6421. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter. Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com or 702-863-4285. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
