Electric providers, emergency responders gear up for storm threat in Bexar County

SAN ANTONO – Bexar County Emergency Management staff is bracing for the probability of high winds and flash flooding overnight Thursday into Friday morning.

“Public Works has their barricades positioned strategically as they know where the hotspots might be,” said BCEM spokesman Tom Peine.

Weather is being monitored and even though the risk of storms is slight, it’s good to be ready.

“Just be extra aware when you drive around because there may be tree limbs on the ground or other debris that’s flying around. It’s just a little bit of a heightened awareness type situation,” Peine explained.

Daniel Martinez with the Greater San Antonio Area Chapter Red Cross said volunteers are pulling double duty as they prepare to help others.

“If we know that there’s a big storm coming, we want to always ensure that our devices are charged in advance, that we have a way to communicate with others in case there is an emergency, that we have a plan,” Martinez said. “You know, there’s a lot of flash flooding that happens with thunderstorms, so that we have a plan for routes if we need to get out of our current neighborhood.”

Electric providers are also working and ready to respond to outages.

Tachi Hinojosa of Central Texas Electric Cooperative said the utility is expecting wind and lightning to cause problems.

“When you have lightning storms, a lot of times that can be a labor-intensive process as our crews have to replace a lot of fuses that blow due to the lightning,” he said.

Hinojosa said at this point they’re ready for anything expected and unexpected.

“A couple of weeks ago here in Fredericksburg, we, we did have some hail very early in the morning, not expected. So prepare for the worst and expect the best,” he said.