Contributed File Photo: The northern half of the San Carlos Apache Reservation was without power for nearly an entire day after a monsoon storm took out an electrical transmission line on Saturday.
Contributed Article/Courtesy San Carlos Apache Tribe
SAN CARLOS APACHE RESERVATION – High winds from a monsoon storm on Saturday afternoon knocked out power to the northern half of the San Carlos Apache Reservation, leaving the communities of Seven Mile Wash, Gilson Wash and Peridot without electricity for 21 hours.
The storm blew down an obsolete major electrical transmission line located in a remote area between Coolidge Dam and Winkelman. Repairs took so long because the area was accessible only after clearing debris with heavy equipment. Off-reservation communities were affected, as well, including Winkelman, Dudleyville, Aravaipa, and Mammoth.
Power was knocked out at approximately 4:35 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10. Power was restored at 1:39 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 11. Essential government facilities were paralyzed, including cellular phone service and water delivery infrastructure, causing significant risks for some patients and residents. The San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation’s hospital in Peridot used its backup generator to keep power on at the hospital although adjacent employee housing lost power.
The power outage also shut down two community wells, leaving many with little to no water pressure. Refrigerators also lost power resulting in many homes losing food due to spoilage.
“The power outage was a major challenge for the Tribe,” said San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler. “This kind of electrical failure is usually equated with developing countries, not the United States. In the face of what could have been a major disaster, the Tribe’s Emergency Response Commission immediately responded by providing water, ice, and shelter to those most in need.”
The Commission held an emergency meeting on Saturday afternoon to assess the immediate needs of the community. The Commission provided space at the Apache Gold Bingo Hall and the San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation’s main lobby in Peridot to shelter about 130 residents from the heat and to recharge electronic devices. The Commission also set up water and ice distribution for the public at the Bashas parking lot on Sunday morning.
The transmission line is part of an electric power system owned and operated by the San Carlos Irrigation Project (“SCIP”). The SCIP was established in 1924 by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) to provide irrigation water and pumping to private landowners and power to residents on and off the Reservation.
The SCIP has 1,894 residential and 355 commercial Reservation customers. The transmission line routinely fails, leaving Reservation residents and businesses without power, often for hours and sometimes days at a time. The Tribe has repeatedly requested federal authorities to replace the transmission line and construct a new access route along U.S. Highway 70.
Chairman Rambler has written Interior Secretary Deborah Haaland about the power outage. He will be meeting with Secretary Haaland on September 9-10 in Washington, D.C., to discuss funding solutions to prevent future power outages and other matters.
