SAN ANTONIO — Ralph Garza is monitoring his neighbor’s homes in San Antonio’s West Side. There’s more traffic than usual on this block as workers, including volunteers, continue to try to restore power and clean up.
Over 100,000 customers were left without power when a storm hit the city Friday night. Spectrum News 1 asked Garza Monday morning if he was expecting his power to be back on.
“I hope so, I hope so because today will fourth day [without power],” Garza said.
Thankfully for Garza, the power turned back on later Monday afternoon.
The storm left power lines resting on cars and debris all over people’s lawns, and the winds snapped trees and utility poles. One of the poles fell on Garza’s daughter’s car while she was in it.
“I mean a miracle from God that nothing happened to her,” Garza said.
The damage was clear across San Antonio’s West Side: fences destroyed, giant trees resting in the middle of streets and even on top of houses.
It’s the severity of the damage that slowed down progress in restoring power.
“Just getting there in the first place and just starting the work is impeded,” Frank Almaraz, interim CPS Energy CEO and president, said. “They have to clear that debris and those trees even just to begin the restoration effort.”
The impact was seen for miles. The metal roof from a nearby business covered Garza’s backyard, roof and his neighbor’s front yard.
As of Monday morning, over 2,000 CPS Energy customers were still without power.
Juan Flores, 93, who is using solar-powered lights to see at night in his home of 66 years, was one of those people still without power.
“Well, we have a little ice chest, and I bought some ice, and then I put all of the drinks in there,” Flores said. “And the milk, and that’s the way we keep up.”
Flores said he doesn’t have much food to refrigerate for one reason.
“Since I retired, Bill Miller is the place I eat,” Flores said, smiling at his wife. “Bill Miller, she eats breakfast with me every day.”
As for Garza, his Dodge Ram was his temporary home until the power returned.
“We got hit real hard; what you see out here, this is us coming together,” Garza said. “Helping one another, that is how it is supposed to be.”
So far, electric companies from the Rio Grande Valley all the way to Central Texas have come to San Antonio to help.