SAN ANTONIO — Fewer than 20,000 CPS Energy customers remained without power Sunday morning after severe storms swept through the city Friday night, as officials investigated two possible flood-related drowning deaths.
Police said a 46-year-old woman was found dead Saturday after she and another person were swept away by fast-moving water in a drainage area Friday evening. The other person was able to get out of the water after being carried several blocks downstream, officials said.
The woman’s death is being investigated as a drowning, with the Medical Examiner’s Office reviewing the circumstances.
San Antonio interim Police Chief Jesse Salame said officers were also investigating the discovery of a man believed to be in his 50s who was found dead at Woodlawn Lake on Sunday morning. The death may be flood-related, though the information is preliminary.
At the height of the outages, about 250,000 CPS Energy customers lost power. CPS Energy said the remaining outages are expected to take longer to address as crews move from large outage areas to smaller, more complex damage sites.
The utility has added crews from across the region, including workers from Pedernales Electric Cooperative expected to arrive Sunday afternoon. Officials said the additional support will nearly double CPS Energy’s usual restoration capacity.
Crews have been working around downed power lines, fallen trees, debris and roofing materials tangled in electrical equipment. CPS Energy urged residents to assume downed lines are energized and dangerous.
79 traffic signals had been restored by Sunday morning, while 45 remained in flashing mode and 119 were still offline. Police are monitoring major intersections where traffic lights are not functioning.
The city said it had picked up 216 damaged trees and 124 tons of storm debris as of Saturday. Another 65 downed trees had been reported, while 349 customers brought an additional 132 tons of debris to the city’s brush collection site.
Brush disposal fees remain waived for residents bringing storm-related debris to the collection center. City crews also plan an additional garbage pickup Monday for Beacon Hill and Five Points, where regular trash collection is normally scheduled for Wednesday.
Code enforcement teams completed 75 structural inspections, including 71 homes and four commercial properties. Two of the commercial inspections resulted in emergency demolitions.
The city’s six resilience hubs will remain open through noon Monday, offering water, snacks, Wi-Fi, device charging and a place to cool off. Residents can bring pets, and VIA Metropolitan Transit is providing free transportation to resilience hubs and daytime cooling locations.
City staff is also conducting door-to-door outreach in storm-impacted neighborhoods, including Tobin Hill, Alta Vista, Five Points and parts of the West Side.
Customers can check restoration status or report continuous outages at CPSEnergy.com/Outage or by calling 210-353-HELP (4357).
Residents can report non-emergency tree damage, blocked streets or general debris by calling 3-1-1 or 210-207-6000, or by emailing 311CustomerService@sanantonio.gov.
Officials urged residents to treat all downed power lines as live and extremely dangerous, and to never touch downed lines or objects resting on electrical equipment. To report a downed power line, CPS Energy said to call 210-353-HELP (4357).
RESOURCES FOR RESIDENTS
To help residents cope with rising temperatures during power outages, the city has opened six resilience hubs that will remain open through Monday at noon. The sites will provide basic needs and supplies, access to power and device charging, and free Wi-Fi. The city said anyone arriving should bring clothes, supplies, and medicine, and that kennels will be available for pets in a separate area at these locations:
Copernicus Community Center, 5003 Lord Road, 78220Garza Community Center, 1450 Mira Vista, 78228Miller’s Pond Community Center, 6175 Old Pearsall Road, 78242Normoyle Community Center, 700 Culberson, 78225Northeast Senior Center, 4135 Thousand Oaks, 78217Southside Lions Senior Center, 3303 Pecan Valley Drive, 78210
City libraries and community centers may also serve as daytime places to stay cool. Locations and operating hours are available at SA.gov/HotWeather or by calling 3-1-1 or 210-207-6000.
VIA Metropolitan Transit is offering free transportation to both daytime places to stay cool and the overnight resilience hubs. For transportation assistance, residents can call 3-1-1 or 210-207-6000.
BRUSH COLLECTION
The city’s Brush Collection Center at 1800 Wurzbach Parkway, 78216, will be open Sunday, Aug. 30, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., extending hours beyond its normal Sunday closure. The city said brush disposal fees are being waived this weekend for residents disposing of storm-related brush.