Rancho Viejo opens town hall to residents with medical needs

RANCHO VIEJO - Although most of the electricity had been restored to this town of 1,800, many who need it most because of health reasons remained in the dark Friday.

Hurricane Dolly knocked out power to the town on Wednesday, and by Thursday much of it had been restored. However, as of early Friday afternoon, approximately 78 homes were without power, and many of these houses belong to older residents with medical needs, Mayor Craig Flood said.

Because all motel and hotel rooms near the town are booked, Flood has opened up Town Hall for these residents who are on respirators, oxygen therapy and need electricity to keep them running.

"We are letting them come up to City Hall to use electricity ... people are getting upset at those 78 houses," Flood said.

City officials will continue to help these individuals until power is restored to their residences.

The homes affected are those located on Enchilada, Tesoro, Escandon, Santa Ana and Morales streets.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, there were 133,298 AEP customers without power, AEP spokesman Jerry Don Wilson said.

"Through the weekend, there's a lot that's going to be done," he said, adding that electrical workers from electric companies across Texas are arriving in the Valley to restore service.

The workers are coming from Entergy, Centerpoint, Texas North, and SWEBCO. In all, there will be approximately 1,400 workers.

The Valley Morning Star contributed to this report.