Bombay Beach, California - Imperial Irrigation District crews are working around the clock to restore service to hundreds of IID energy customers in southeastern Coachella Valley after a powerful storm took down 33 power poles along a major transmission line between Bombay Beach and North Shore Monday night, August 30.

Initially, about 1,400 customers lost power when the poles went down around 7:30 p.m. IID restored power to 492 customers by 8:45 p.m. and to another 292 around 9:45 a.m. this morning, August. 31. A total of 662 customers remain without power.

Due to the extensive damage caused by the storm, which includes downed distribution lines and the physical tasks requiring removal of damaged equipment and the construction of new infrastructure, full restoration is expected within the next four days.

“We have all-hands-on-deck,” said IID Energy Manager Marilyn Del Bosque Gilbert. “The district has all resources available at the site and will continue to work as long as needed to restore power. We appreciate the patience of our customers during this unexpected outage.”

About 80 personnel are working the restoration effort, including 12 line construction crews, assisted by Irby Construction, who are all working under extreme weather conditions.

Crews are clearing roads, removing damaged equipment and transporting materials to reconstruct the transmission line and damaged distribution poles. The district’s Emergency Management Services team is coordinating response efforts with both Riverside and Imperial Counties.

As of 12:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, August 31, IID has made ice available for customers affected by the outage at its command center, which is located near the intersection of Club View and Vander Veer in North Shore. Ice will be provided from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the duration of the outage.

The district is currently working to provide a generator to the Yacht Club, 99-155 Sea View Dr., Mecca, to utilize as a cooling center.

IID is also evaluating the need for mutual aid from other utilities, but has not requested it at this time.

For information or assistance, please follow us on social media or contact the district at 1-800-303-7756.