Valley storm knocks down utility poles, takes out power, closes schools

PHOENIX – Thousands of Valley residents were without power Friday morning and multiple schools were closed after a storm blew through and knocked down utility poles and lines the previous night.

The Salt River Project reported about 4,700 customers had no electricity because of the storm, but by 5 a.m. Friday that number was down to 220, spread out from Peoria to Mesa.

Arizona Public Service reported the rain and wind had affected 5,100 customers as of 5 a.m. Friday, mostly in the West Valley.

“The storm was relatively mild as far as outages and damage in our service territory,” SRP spokeswoman Patty Garcia-Likens told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday morning.

The customers who experienced some type of outage during the storm’s peak had power restored fairly quickly, she said.

In Peoria, several streets were closed because of downed lines and damage and classes at Peoria High School, Peoria Flex Academy, MET Professional Academy and Cheyenne Elementary School were canceled, the city said in an email.

Alta Loma and Peoria elementary schools operated under a delayed start.

The West Valley city’s main library was also shut down because of an outage.

#TrafficAlert – Multiple closures due to storm damage & power lines down.
– 83rd Ave / Cactus Rd Intersection – All directions
– 91st Ave from Peoria to Grand Ave.
– Cactus Rd from 83rd to 91st Ave
– 79th Ave from Cactus to Peoria Ave
– 79th Ave & Columbine Rd pic.twitter.com/K6h6916Czf

— Peoria Police (AZ) (@PeoriaPoliceAZ) August 19, 2022

The Maricopa County Flood Control District interactive map showed 1.22 inches of rain fell in part of northwest Phoenix over several hours.

APS outage data is available online, as is SRP’s information.

More rain was falling across the Valley as the morning commute got underway and the National Weather Service forecast another round of storming Friday and Saturday.

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