CFE: Returning Power to Baja California

The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) is already working to reestablish power in southern Baja California after hurricane Olaf slammed into the popular tourist area as a category 2 hurricane last night.

Olaf made landfall in close proximity to San Jose del Cabo around 9pm last night with sustained winds of 100 mph, and expected rainfall between 5 to 15 inches depending on the region, reports the National Hurricane Center. As of this morning however, the National Weather Service reports that the hurricane has been degraded to a Category 1 as the storm loses momentum and makes its way across the peninsula heading northwest.

After the National Civil Protection Agency (PC) issued an orange alert, indicating an elevated level of danger, local authorities prepared to brunt the storm by asking residents in high risk-adverse areas to move to shelters, asking homes to cut energy and gas lines and closing ports. Businesses boarded up their windows and attended last-minute shoppers looking to buy supplies. Hotels housing an estimated 20,000 foreign tourists in the area, put sand bags in anticipation to storm surge and expected flooding, and asked their guests to stay indoors while the storm passed.

Earlier this month, CFE had deployed 526 personnel, 80 cranes, 126 vehicles and one helicopter to the region, in a similar preemptive fashion for hurricanes Grace and Linda.. Since the storm in still ongoing there is uncomplete assessment of total damages, however there have been reports of downed cables, poles, and transformers in various areas throughout the region. Nevertheless, personnel have already begun to survey the region promising to attend to the damages as soon as possible. So far, in areas where they have been able to begin repair operations, they have successfully restored power to 24 percent of more than 190,000 users in the region according to a press release.

Seemingly, the worst is over given that the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) predicts Olaf will continue losing strength fully expecting it to become a tropical storm by early Saturday, and a low-pressure system by Sunday.