Storm Causes Unexpected Closures And Blackouts

You never know what’s going to happen in the desert when it rains.

“Lots of lightning,” said Ross Prout, visiting from Santa Monica. “Heard the thunder. Woke us up around 4 a.m. It was impressive.”

The early morning storm caused some electrical problems at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The tram remained closed until approximately 11:30 a.m. — more than three hours after its regular start time.

“[We] found out it was a fuse that had to be changed,” said Tramway Public Affairs Manager Lena Zimmerschied, “and, basically, we’re running on stand-by motor right now because we still don’t have any electricity from Palm Springs.”

A Southern California Edison spokesman said Sunday’s power outage spread across the Coachella Valley, affecting 2,000 households in Palm Springs, Thousand Palms, Desert Hot Springs and Twentynine Palms.

SCE hoped to restore full power sometime tonight.

Zimmerschied said there was no damage to the tram, and no one was stuck in the tram.

Palm Springs residents Chris Vargo and Javier Cobian biked up to the lower tram station and discovered the tram inoperable.

But, they weren’t upset.

“When you ride your bike up, you’re just so sweaty,” said Cobian, who recently moved from Portland, Ore. “It was nice to dry off before you go up there.”

“We weren’t in any hurry to go anyplace,” added Vargo. “So, we just sat back and talked to a whole bunch of people up there [in the lobby].”

The National Weather Service predicted a 40% chance of rain in Palm Springs for Sunday. But, some hikers who spent the night at the top of Mt. San Jacinto experienced some of the downpour already.

“They were using our old tent, and the tarp was a bit too small,” said Seana Thompson. “So, water came in under the tarp and got the tent wet.”

More than .25 of an inch of rain fell at Palm Springs International Airport with a flash flood watch in effect through Sunday night.