After months of nothing but a scorching sun during one of the hottest summers on record, the prayers of many were answered, when the rains finally began in mid-August.
Dry gullies and arroyos quickly filled to flood stage. Springs began to flow. Once dry creek beds and the mighty Rio Grande itself came alive again.
Though not a drought-breaker, thankfully, the rain came in time to grow some grasses for livestock and wildlife before the onset of winter. It was welcomed from one end of RGEC’s service territory to the other.
What was not particularly welcome were the inevitable outages thunderstorms cause. Lightning struck at the Cienega substation, annihilating a massive 16 ton power transformer. Lightning arresters were blowing in every portion of RGEC’s service territory, (but that’s what they’re for – to take the hit and, hopefully, protect other equipment). A wooden transmission structure in Hudspeth County was seriously damaged, as well.
Then there were flooded roads, arroyos, washes, gullies... There was suddenly water everywhere. That water made it hard for repair crews to get where they needed to go. In some instances, crews were forced to just wait it out, until water receded enough to cross.
Many roads (some of which weren’t much to begin with) were left impassable, or nearly so, in the aftermath of the flooding. Such was the case in the Big Bend region, illustrated in the photo at right. In some instances, line crews utilized all terrain vehicles (ATVs) to reach their destinations, or patrol lines. When service trucks and ATVs weren’t feasible, linemen walked, packing their tools, to spot trouble and conduct necessary repairs.
Take a look at a few photos from our “rainy spell” on the following pages. We always appreciate your patience during storm-related outages, and know that you are counting on us to restore power as quickly as possible.
