Chris McDaniel
KAWC News

Approximately 73 Arizona Public Service customers in Yuma County are without power as of 10am this morning, after a widespread power outage that began around 2am.

About 2,200 APS customers in Yuma County lost power during the storm, officials said.

APS spokeswoman Yessica Del Rincon told KAWC that more than 80 power poles in South County were damaged by strong winds associated with thunderstorms that hit the area.

“Within an hour, we got about 1,100 customers back up,” Del Rincon said. “Currently, 73 customers are out of power. We are working as quickly and safely as possible.”

“Some of the work will be done after the monsoon storms blow in,” she continued. [and] Assess the damage, remove much of the storm debris, bring in new poles as well, and begin installing new poles and wiring. ”

“So this is a lot of work that happens and is done after monsoon storms hit,” Del Rincon said.

“At the height of the storm, more than 80 utility poles had collapsed and were damaged, but now 70 poles have collapsed, and crews have been forced to refit most of their equipment. We are working as quickly and safely as possible,” she said.

The outage affected APS customers along 32nd Street between Avenue B and near South Arizona Avenue.

Additional outages were reported in South County under Fortuna Foothills and MCAS Yuma.

The shelter was located at the Yuma Civic Center at 1440 W Desert Hills Drive in Yuma.

Kofa High School was closed to students today as a result of a power outage.

APS customers are entitled to a refund for the purchase of up to £20 of ice or dry ice from APS.

For more information, please visit the APS website.