Community bands together in Anza to weather power outage
People in Anza are are still dealing with with an area-wide power outage. It has been on-going since the Cranston Fire broke out Wednesday.
Ice is being passed out at the Anza Community Hall, as locals are banding together to help during an area-wide outage…
“This has been the longest since I’ve been up here and everybody else I’ve talked to, this is the longest they can remember without power,” Bill Donahue, who lives in the Anza Valley, said.
The blackout began after the Cranston Fire scorched transmission lines that bring electricity into town, making life difficult in a rural area.
“When the power goes out, you don’t have a generator, you have no well, no water to wash, feed your animals, to flush the toilet, to take a bath,” Donahue said.
As a result the community hall turned into a hub where donated food, water, and other essentials are being handed out to locals, allowing people to eat and get clean while they spent time in the building that’s powered by generators.
“It’s been amazing. Some people that don’t even like each other, I’ve watched them stand side by side, working,” Donahue said.
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One of those working is Missy Moulton the owner of the cafe in the community hall. She’s been pulling long hours coming in at around 6:30 a.m. and staying until the late night.
“The hours I’m pulling are crazy right now, but I honestly wouldn’t change it for the world,” she said. “It’s for the community and i want to be here every step of the way.”
Boulton is in the kitchen with her cook serving many plates of food, with no regard to anyone’s means of paying. She said her hot food has brought people together and has received a lot of gratitude.
“We’ve gotten so many thank you’s, tears, and tears of happiness and tears of sadness. It’s really overwhelming to see this every day,” she said.
It’s community a bond that’s letting people see some light in the future.
Anza electric co-op said they expect their transmission lives to be repaired by the end of the week.
However, there remains no timetable as to when power will be fully restored.
