Rain-related power outages darken thousands of homes, businesses

SAN ANTONIO – The calendar may say it is Tuesday, but power outages across the area made it feel more like a Monday for thousands of people.

Many struggled in the dark Tuesday morning to get ready for work or school.

At one point, about 4,000 homes and businesses throughout the city of San Antonio had no electricity.

“As I was driving along (Highway) 281, nothing was on. No gas station lights, no street lights. So I just thought to myself, ‘Well, this will be interesting,’” said LaToya Adams.

She was on her way to the gym that she manages, The Union, when she realized most of the strip mall, located near Highway 281 and Thousand Oaks, was in the dark.

Surprisingly, her business had emergency lighting, which came on just in time.

“We just decided the show must go on because people need their fitness and that’s how they feel better in the morning,” Adams said.

Michael Gray, meanwhile, had gotten off to work without a hitch.

However, right round 7:30 a.m., the lights near his home and the store where he works, suddenly went out.

“Luckily, it’s daytime so you can see. But everything’s out, refrigerator. Nothing’s on,” he said.

Gray was able to head home briefly to check on things inside his apartment near Heimer and Bitters roads.

“I just wanted to put my milk in the freezer, my eggs in the freezer for right now, because you don’t know how long this is going to last,” Gray said.

Across the street from his home, students at Coker Elementary School had to hold a special celebration in an unusual way.

According to a spokeswoman with the North East Independent School District, students began their 100th day of the school year by using flashlights and daylight from the windows.

However, Aubrey Chancellor said the outage was relatively short-lived. The lights came back on by around 9:30 a.m.

A message posted to CPS Energy’s Twitter page said more than a dozen of the utility’s power poles caught fire during the rainy weather, causing the widespread outages.

The message said crews were working to make repairs as quickly as possible.