City officials are warning San Antonio drivers to use caution on Sunday, August 30, as 119 traffic signals remain offline after Friday night’s severe storms. In addition to the offline lights, another 45 signals are operating in flashing mode as of 11 a.m. on Sunday.
The city has also restored 79 traffic signals that had been out, staff said during a Sunday morning joint press conference with CPS Energy, the San Antonio Police Department and the City of San Antonio. SAPD said it’s monitoring major intersections affected by signal outages and that officers will provide traffic control in high-traffic areas as needed.
San Antonio interim Police Chief Jesse Salame urged drivers to slow down, stay alert and give utility crews, first responders and city workers plenty of room as they continue clearing storm debris and other hazards. Drivers approaching an intersection where the traffic signal is not working should treat it as a four-way stop, Salame said.
The traffic signal problems are part of a broader cleanup and recovery effort following Friday night’s severe storm, which left widespread damage and power outages across San Antonio. The storm also resulted in the death of a 46-year-old woman. SAPD is investigating a possible second storm-related drowning at Woodlawn Lake on Sunday.
The city said residents should report non-emergency problems such as downed trees, blocked streets, debris, and flashing or non-functioning traffic signals through 311 or by calling 210-207-6000.
About 20,000 customers remain without power Sunday morning, CPS Energy said during the conference. At the peak after Friday’s storm, about 250,000 customers lost power for more than a second. The local utility company said it restored power to 112,000 of the 250,000 customers from the start “pretty quickly.”
CPS restored power to about 50,000 customers overnight, bringing total outages down from roughly 70,000 to 20,000. The hardest-hit areas were Five Points and Merida.
However, CPS said some customers could remain without power into early next week, particularly as crews work through smaller, individual outages. Crews are dealing with extensive debris, including trees, carport roofs and pieces of roofing material wrapped around power lines and poles.
Officials warned that customers whose power has been restored could temporarily lose power again while crews safely work on nearby circuits.
Report downed power lines directly to CPS Energy at 210-353-4357.
In the conference, the city said it conducted 75 structural inspections after the storm, and two commercial properties face emergency demolition. The city has not yet released the addresses or business names but said it would provide them.
Residential inspections primarily found damage to roofs, fences, carports and trees.