Ruidoso without power for more than eight hours and counting
Residents woke up to a dark and cold morning without hot coffee
Dianne L. Stallings
The majority of Ruidoso was without power for more than eight hours Sunday, after a vehicle hit a pole on Gavilan Canyon Road.
Residents and visitors work up to a dark, cold morning until the sun began peeking through the clouds. Messages on Facebook frantically queried where a hot cup of coffee could be found.
Electric service was restored to many of the affected 1,000-plus customers by 9:15 a.m., but pockets remained without power, according to information from PNM, the Public Service Company of New Mexico. Internet service also was disabled through Windstream.
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Ruidoso Police Chief Darren Hooker said the driver of a four-door sedan from El Paso, Texas, Noe Talamates, 28,collided with a transmission pole and damaged attached distribution lines.
“He was arrested for DWI and taken to the Lincoln County Detention Center in Carrizozo,” Hooker said. “The woman passenger was transported to the Lincoln County Medical Center, treated for minor injuries and released."
“We arrested him, but state police handled the crash investigation. The car was badly damaged in the incident that occurred around 1:30 a.m.”
Fortunately for many businesses in town, the incident occurred in the early morning and power was being restored in phases by about 8:30 a.m. to some gas stations and restaurants.
“They restored Walmart, Taco Bell and into midtown,” Hooker said, emphasizing that he didn’t have technical background in transformers and power grids. “The police department and Albertson’s still don’t have power (at 12:20 p.m.). They have to phase it back on. It affected the whole system and if they did it all at once, it could blow again.”