ALERT 80,000 w/o Electricity in Mesa & Apache Junction, AZ. Temps Over 100 Degrees! UPDATED

Seeker

Seeker

3 Bombs for Hawkins
SRP Transformer Catches Fire in East Mesa
80,000 without power

A Salt River Project electrical transformer exploded and caught fire in east Mesa around noon Thursday.

SRP spokesman Scott Harrelson says it's unknown what sparked the explosion. The transformer, at 7232 E. University Drive near Power Rd., is used to "step down" incoming electricity from the 230-thousand volt transmission lines to 69-thousand volts for local distribution lines.

Harrelson says the smoke is the result of mineral oil that's burning. He says the unit has "hundreds of thousands of gallons" of mineral oil, which is used to keep the units cool.

SRP says around 80,000 customers are out of power.

Most outages are in East Mesa and Apache Junction, near where the substation is located. Callers to KFYI News are also reporting that there are outages in West Mesa.

Read more: http://www.kfyi.com/cc-common/news/...695?feed=118695&article=8780078#ixzz1Qnx2fYqe

Sure hope they can repair this before Saturday when temperatures are projected to hit 117 degrees!
 
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TeapotTempest

TeapotTempest

Turbulent Teakettle
Well that stinks. I have some relatives who live in Apache Junction, they are probably pretty miserable right now!
 
Seeker

Seeker

3 Bombs for Hawkins
Now
Partly CloudyTemperature
108.2 °F


. . . they are probably pretty miserable right now!

Probably are! Even worse, this is going-home time from work and all traffic lights are out. Policemen are standing in intersections to provide traffic control (shoes probalby melting into the asphalt). Fast food not available, grocery stores are keeping freezers under surveillance, elderly need to be relocated, if possible, and pets taken care of as well.

Anyone here directly affected?
 
BadMedicine

BadMedicine

Would *I* Lie???
yeah this could get real ugly. Hope they keep their coolsand help those in need and can get the power back asap.
 
kozanne

kozanne

Inactive
You running your solar yet?

We're getting the site evaluation in a week or two. Goin' solar, baby!

University and Power, so where in West Mesa are they out?

Boy I hope SRP jumps in and gets it done or people will be charging them for their hotel stays during our 'balmy' 4th weekend. I am staying the hell inside.
 
kozanne

kozanne

Inactive
Seeker said:
Now
Partly CloudyTemperature
108.2 °F


. . . they are probably pretty miserable right now!

Probably are! Even worse, this is going-home time from work and all traffic lights are out. Policemen are standing in intersections to provide traffic control (shoes probalby melting into the asphalt). Fast food not available, grocery stores are keeping freezers under surveillance, elderly need to be relocated, if possible, and pets taken care of as well.

Anyone here directly affected?
Click to expand...

Not here. Too far west. However, if anything happens, I'm coming to your house!
 
R

Running Dog

Inactive
hmmm...
strange, that out here, in Washington state ,we had a similar thing happen a couple of weeks ago. Think its connected?
 
Laurane

Laurane

Canadian Loonie
Just phoned my DH's sister in E. Mesa - she lives at Higley and Main, so won't have power. She is not in, so assume that she is at a place where there is an emergency generator. Her husband died last week, so she should be there catching up on sleep, but she might be sitting outside in the van with the a/con running or down at the pool, trying to cool off. Don't think the Park she is in has a generator.

Just phoned Security at the Park and the power is back on again.......whew!
 
Seeker

Seeker

3 Bombs for Hawkins
Power Returns to Mesa Residents
150,000 affected after a SRP transformer exploded Thursday

The Salt River Project said power was restored to residents around Mesa and Apache Junction last night around 11:30 p.m.

It was estimated that 150,000 were affected by the outages caused by a transformer explosion.

SRP spokesman Scott Harrelson says it's unknown what sparked the explosion. The transformer, at 7232 E. University Drive near Power Rd., is used to "step down" incoming electricity from the 230-thousand volt transmission lines to 69-thousand volts for local distribution lines.

The City of Mesa utilized The Convention Center as a cool down center.

Read more: http://www.kfyi.com/cc-common/news/...695?feed=118695&article=8780078#ixzz1Qs3RHWej

This should have served as a trial run for those who live in states affected by summer storms and what happens when the grid goes down for them. Winter weather folks can put another log on the fire but summer storm families need backups too.

The first thing public service announcements start advising is not to open your freezer, that food will stay frozen for several hours in a well insulated freezer. But what they don't tell you is that after many hours with air conditioning off, canned goods on the highest shelves in your kitchen are vulnerable to overheating and should be watched for signs of spoilage.

Any further advice or tips?
 
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Seeker

Seeker

3 Bombs for Hawkins
Thanks, Moggy - that is some good stuff. It should be noted that the power went out around 12:30 p.m. Thursday and was not restored until around 11:30 p.m. - nearly 24 hours without electricity in some areas.
 
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