Coverage spread: 3 sources — 3 unrated
Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.
Where they agree
- A severe monsoon storm system hit the Phoenix metro area over the weekend, with a follow-up storm early Tuesday causing further damage.
- High winds toppled trees and power poles, leading to widespread APS and SRP outages across multiple Valley cities.
- APS confirmed 42 power poles fell and described it as the utility’s largest storm event of the year so far.
- West Valley areas, especially Glendale, were hit particularly hard, with residents enduring long outages during hot conditions.
Where they differ
- AZFamily’s Tuesday report focuses on the second, smaller storm’s effects in north Phoenix and Goodyear, detailing specific outage numbers by neighborhood (1,100+ APS, 500 in Goodyear, 1,300+ SRP customers in Maryvale and Tolleson).
- AZFamily’s Glendale piece centers on human impact, quoting senior-community residents Alana May and Brenda Manz about enduring 15-17 hours without power in 104-degree heat and fears for oxygen-dependent neighbors.
- FOX 10 emphasizes utility and safety mechanics, quoting APS spokesperson Ann Porter on the 42-pole/22,000-customer figures and Phoenix Fire Capt. Todd Keller’s detailed safety guidance on downed lines, plus the dramatic video of cars driving over a burning live wire near 57th Avenue and McDowell Road.
- 12 News offers only a brief note on physical property damage—fallen trees and wrecked carports at a Glendale apartment complex—without power-outage figures or safety commentary.
A powerful monsoon storm swept through the Phoenix metro area over the weekend and into Tuesday, toppling 42 APS power poles, snapping trees and cutting electricity to more than 50,000 customers at the peak of the outage. APS called it the utility’s biggest storm event of the year, and by Tuesday morning a second round of storms caused additional outages in Phoenix and Goodyear.
How bad was the damage?
The first major storm hit Sunday evening around 8 p.m., bringing wind gusts topping 50 mph that split power poles and severed utility lines across the Valley. APS reported 22,000 customers lost power, mostly in West Valley communities including Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park and Buckeye. APS spokesperson Ann Porter said the storm brought down 42 poles in total, calling it the utility’s largest outage event so far this year.
A second storm rolled through overnight into Tuesday, uprooting trees and littering debris across north Phoenix, including near the former Paradise Village Mall area, where fallen trees blocked Paradise Village Parkway and Cactus Road during the morning commute. Two large trees were uprooted outside a Chase Bank near Tatum and Shea boulevards, and a tree near 40th Street and Thunderbird Road knocked down fencing at a nearby apartment complex along with a power line. More than 1,100 APS customers lost power in that north Phoenix corridor, nearly 500 in Goodyear, over 1,300 SRP customers in the Maryvale area of west Phoenix, and nearly 1,300 in the Tolleson-west Phoenix area. Most Valley power was restored by around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, though hundreds remained without electricity in Maryvale at that time.
How did residents cope without power in the heat?
In Glendale, many of the more than 50,000 customers hit by Sunday’s storm went over 15 hours without power in extreme heat, with some residents reporting outages lasting up to 17 hours. At the Palm Shadows senior community along 51st Avenue, residents Alana May and Brenda Manz described a chaotic night: May said she heard loud banging and debris being thrown around, while Manz initially didn’t realize the storm had torn off part of her roof. May said indoor temperatures climbed to 104 degrees by Monday afternoon and that she began having trouble breathing as the heat built up. Both women worried about more vulnerable neighbors in the senior community, including people who rely on oxygen equipment, asking what those residents would do without power to run medical devices.
What other damage did the storm cause?
Beyond downed poles and trees, the storm caused scattered property damage across the West Valley. In Avondale, high winds blew large construction pipes into a residential neighborhood, damaging walls and cars. At a Glendale apartment complex, tree crews spent Monday clearing fallen trees and wrecked carports after winds battered the property. Near 57th Avenue and McDowell Road in Phoenix, a live power line fell into the street; video showed vehicles driving over the burning line, which sparked a larger fire and additional outage. A FOX 10 crew on scene called 911 to report the fire.
What are officials telling residents to do around downed lines?
Phoenix Fire Department Capt. Todd Keller urged residents to treat every downed power line as if it’s live, warning people never to touch or drive over one. He said standing water near a downed line can also carry an electric charge and should be avoided. If a line falls on a vehicle with someone inside, Keller said the person should stay in the car unless there’s an immediate life-threatening danger; if they must exit, they should shuffle their feet slowly rather than walk normally, to reduce the risk of the “step potential” that can deliver a shock. APS separately advised the public to stay at least 100 feet from any downed wire.
What is APS doing to prevent future outages?
Porter said APS crews first ensure power is fully cut before repairing damaged lines, then work to rebuild poles and restore service as quickly as possible. She said storm readiness is a year-round effort, with crews performing proactive maintenance and system checks ahead of severe weather to try to keep the grid stable. Despite that preparation, Porter said this storm’s winds were severe enough to produce the utility’s largest single storm-damage event of the year so far.
Why this matters going forward
With monsoon season ongoing, forecasters and residents are bracing for the possibility of more storms capable of similarly widespread damage. The Glendale outages highlighted how extended power losses during peak summer heat can become a safety issue, not just an inconvenience, particularly for elderly residents and those dependent on medical equipment. The recurring damage to poles, trees and lines across multiple Valley cities also underscores the vulnerability of aboveground infrastructure to high-wind monsoon events.
Sources
- AZFamily — Monsoon storm snaps trees, knocks out power to Phoenix area residents · Glendale families plead for relief after storm knocks out power for thousands
- FOX 10 Phoenix — Phoenix storm topples 42 power poles, 22K lose power · APS restores power after storm knocks down 42 poles across Phoenix
- 12 News Phoenix
Featured photo: Troutfarm27 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)