The San Antonio Police Department is investigating two possible storm-related drowning deaths after Friday night’s storms.
Two people were swept away by rapidly moving water in San Pedro Creek during Friday night’s storms, according to SAPD Acting Chief Jesse Salame and CPS Energy. Both were carried “several blocks downstream” before one person was able to get out of the water in the downtown area.
SAPD and the San Antonio Fire Department searched the waterway but were unable to find the second person. It’s unclear if the second person made it out of the water safely.
On Saturday night, Salame said a 46-year-old woman was found dead in the 500 block of Quincy Street. San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said the woman drowned as a result of severe weather.
Just before Sunday’s news conference, Salame said he was notified of a possible second storm-related drowning death at Woodlawn Lake. A man believed to be in his 50s was found dead at the lake.
Fewer than 2,000 CPS Energy customers still without power
CPS Energy has restored power to thousands of customers since Friday night’s storms swept through the San Antonio area.
As of 7 a.m. Monday, just under 2,000 (1,812) customers remain without power, which is down from the storm’s peak of more than 100,000.
During a Sunday news conference, CPS Energy Interim CEO Frank Almaraz said the original estimate of outages lasting into early next week still stands for some customers, though he expects significant progress Sunday.
>>MAP: Current power outages in Bexar County
“As we get smaller and smaller, the number gets harder and harder because it turns into individual outages where there may be just two or three people, and there’s many of those,” Almaraz said.
The city and state maintain a database of roughly 900 residents with medical conditions who register for emergency assistance, Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez said.
Of those, 53 were left without power after the storm, and as of Sunday morning, 26 remain without power. Villagomez said city crews are reaching out to them in person to ensure they have what they need.
At peak during the storm, Almaraz said 112,000 CPS Energy customers were impacted. He also said that 250,000 customers lost power for “more than just a second” at some point during the storm.
The Five Points and Merida areas remained the hardest-hit parts of the city, Almaraz said.
At peak, about 24,000 customers in those areas were without power. As of Sunday morning, that number had dropped to about 10,000, though Almaraz said it would fluctuate as crews work to restore power.
Almaraz said CPS Energy brought in 40% more workers Saturday through contract crews from regional utilities as part of a surge effort.
CPS Energy said the city is focusing cleanup efforts in neighborhoods including Woodlawn, Nacogdoches, New Braunfels, Oakwell Farms and Valley Hi, with additional assessments and cleanup continuing in Beacon Hill and Five Points
A second phase of that surge effort begins Sunday with the addition of Pedernales Electric Cooperative crews, which Almaraz said will nearly double the utility’s daily restoration capacity.
Almaraz said CPS Energy is in close communication with school districts ahead of Monday’s return to school and plans to provide a midday update to help districts with planning decisions.
OLLU, 2 elementary schools closed Monday
Our Lady of the Lake University announced it will be closed Monday with all classes canceled as it continues to respond to storm-related power outages and damage, according to a news release.
Medio Creek and Sun Valley elementary schools will also be closed Monday, Southwest ISD announced Sunday evening, as both schools remain without power. All other Southwest ISD schools will operate as usual.
>> LIST: San Antonio-area schools, businesses closed due to storm damage, power outages
Latest storm recovery efforts across San Antonio
The city received 4,600 calls to 311 between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday — compared to a typical Saturday volume of 900 to 1,100 calls, according to Villagomez.
City crews have removed 290 downed trees and around 60 remain down, CPS Energy said. Solid waste teams collected 20 loads of storm debris and about 124 tons of debris as of Saturday.
Two commercial buildings required emergency demolitions following structural assessments, Villagomez said. Code enforcement completed 75 structural inspections Sunday morning — 71 residential and four commercial.
City crews have restored 82 traffic signals that were not operational, according to CPS Energy. Around 38 remain on flash mode and 130 are still offline, with the city working with CPS Energy to restore them.
The city has waived fees at its brush collection facility for residents who want to drop off storm debris. The facility accepted 349 customers who brought 132 additional tons of debris Saturday.
Residents can bring storm-related brush to the City’s Brush Collection Center at 1800 Wurzbach Parkway until 5 p.m. Sunday.
Early garbage collection will be conducted Monday in Beacon Hill and Five Points, two days ahead of the regular Wednesday schedule, Villagomez said.
CPS Energy urges residents to:
- Stay away from downed power lines and treat all lines as energized
- Report downed power lines by calling 210-353-4357. Call 911 for immediate emergencies
- Slow down or move over when approaching crews working along roadways
City resources available for residents without power
The primary resource for residents seeking help is to call 311. Residents who have difficulty reaching someone by phone can also email or submit a request for assistance online.
Most city libraries are open as cooling locations, and pets are welcome.
San Pedro Branch Library will open at 2 p.m., according to a San Antonio Public Library spokesperson. The Bazan Branch Library remains closed.
Park centers are also open as cooling sites. Residents who need refrigeration for medication were directed to resilience hubs rather than libraries or park centers.
The following resilience hubs are open:
- Copernicus Community Center, 5003 Lord Road
- Garza Community Center, 1450 Mira Vista
- Miller’s Pond Community Center, 6175 Old Pearsall Road
- Normoyle Community Center, 700 Culberson Avenue
- Northeast Senior Center, 4135 Thousand Oaks Drive
- Southside Lion Center, 3303 Pecan Valley Drive
City libraries will remain open Sunday during regular hours, officials said. Resilience hubs will remain open through Monday at noon, with reassessment possible if extended hours are needed, Villagomez said.
VIA Metropolitan Transit is providing free transportation to cooling centers as part of its regular routes, Villagomez said. Residents with questions about transportation can call 311.
How Friday night’s storms impacted San Antonio
During a Saturday news conference hosted by CPS Energy and City of San Antonio officials, Almaraz said nearly 112,000 customers were impacted at peak.
“Because of extensive damage caused by wind and falling trees, we have downed lines, broken poles, and fallen trees,” Almaraz said. “Some of these outages are going to extend several days, so please begin making plans now put your emergency plan into effect.”
Almaraz said customers should expect significant reductions in outages throughout the day, but warned that smaller, more scattered outages would take longer to clear.
“We should have a significant reduction in our outages throughout the day today, but as we clear the big ones and then get to the smaller and smaller ones, it will take days to do that, I would expect through the weekend, and you know into the early part of next week as a you know preliminary assumption,” Almaraz said.
Watch the Saturday news conference below:
CPS Energy crews restored power to 40,000 customers overnight and will continue working until power is restored to all customers, Almaraz said.
Almaraz said 562 outages were reported Saturday morning, with about 250 downed power lines still being addressed.
The Five Points area was the hardest-hit part of the city, according to Almaraz.
At peak, Almaraz said 15 breakers were out in that area alone, affecting about 24,000 customers, which represents a little more than a third of all customers impacted.
The utility said it has mobilized all available resources, including outside help brought in to assist with restoration efforts, and is working with union leadership to coordinate crews.
CPS Energy urged residents to stay away from downed power lines and to treat all lines as energized. The utility also asked residents to avoid storm-damaged areas and start planning to stay cool, noting that cooling centers are available.
Storm debris cleanup underway: How to report storm debris, get cleanup help
On Saturday, Villagomez said the city received about 167 reports of downed trees and crews are actively working to remove them and clean up affected areas.
“We will continue these cleanup efforts, and it’s gonna take some time again, so we ask for your patience,” Villagomez said.
Residents can call 311 or 210-207-6000 to report debris or downed trees. Residents can also email the city’s 311 customer service at sanantonio.gov.
Judge Sakai: Power restored at Bexar County jail
Power was restored to the Bexar County Adult Detention Center, according to Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, after it spent Saturday on backup power generators.
Sakai said he visited the facility Saturday and, on Sunday, released a statement that power was restored across the facility.
“I want the public, our employees and the families of those in our custody to know that the jail is up and operational,” Sakai said. “I went there myself on Saturday because when we are responsible for the safety of thousands of people, we have an obligation to know exactly what is happening on the ground.”
SAFD’s overnight storm response
The San Antonio Fire Department responded to nearly 160 storm-related calls between 8 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday, including:
- Powerline calls: 38
- Fire alarms: 36
- Water investigations: 16
- Other fires: 15 (mostly trees ignited by arcing power lines)
- Transformer fires: 11
- Water rescues: 10
- Electrical-related calls: 9
- Elevator rescues: 8
- Structures: 6
- Structure collapses: 5 (all involved a tree falling onto a roof or a partial roof blown off)
- Lightning strikes: 4
No significant injuries were reported in connection with any of the storm-related calls, according to SAFD.
>> KSAT Connect: Viewers share photos of rain, lightning across San Antonio area
San Antonio has seen up to 1″-3″ in spots since Friday night, according to the KSAT Weather Authority team. Check out the latest rainfall totals from the storm:
KSAT crews were out across the San Antonio area Saturday checking out storm damage. Take a look at what they found:
