Thousands of customers remain without power in the Salton City area
Imperial Irrigation District crews continue to work to restore power to over 1,000 customers still affected by an outage caused by Tuesday's strong winds.
Tuesday's winds knocked down 76 power poles around the area, leading to classes being canceled at two Coachella Valley Unified School District schools.
A Salton City Resident was frustrated for many reasons due to the power outage. Her Kindergarten aged child have been out of school for two days. She says she called IID, who told her those schools could be out for five to ten days. "It just feels like we're forgotten about or that they're not taking this seriously," says Abby Sanchez. "There's no sense of urgency, and that's my concern."
Other residents felt the same way as Sanchez when trying to get help when going to the West Shore High School after being directed by IID to go there and receive information on assistance. "Just trying to figure out what we're going to do next," says Roberta Walsh. They noticed that there was no help at the moment, so they devised a plan to go to a friend's home.
As the day continue IID received hundreds of calls from their clients and was sure to update their clients and News Channel 3 that they found a new Shelter and Information location.
The Imperial County Fire Department, Office of Emergency Services, and the Red Cross have designated the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3251 at 50 Desert Shores Dr., Desert Shores, CA 92274, as the shelter and information center for those within the impacted Salton City area.
Also, Imperial County Department of Social Services staff has relocated to the same location to provide information and referrals and assess the community's needs. Staff will be on-site to assist until 8 p.m.
The West Shores High School will not have ICDSS staff on-site; all staff will provide services at VFW Post 3251.
Originally, about 2,500 customers were left without power. However, crews have restored power to more than half of them.
Approximately 1,150 customers still don't have power in the Salton City, Salton Sea Beach, and Desert Shores area.
Officials said Complete restoration could take 5 to 10 days.
IID has set up a shelter and information center at the VFW Post 3251 at 50 Desert Shores Drive in Desert Shores.
Imperial County Wind Storm Update:
— IID (@IIDatWork) February 24, 2023
Shelter and information center
🚧Caltrans wishes to advise motorists that Pole Line Road north of Highway 78 has been closed. pic.twitter.com/FQGWF4eCfN
For assistance accessing resources, Imperial County Department of social services clients and those who may qualify can call (760) 337-6800 for further assistance.
