Talking Stick Resort and Casino evacuated after power outage

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Phoenix-area storm on Loop 101 on Aug. 10, 2018.
Megan Bridgeman, Arizona Republic | azcentral.com

Talking Stick Resort and Casino was evacuated early Saturday morning after an overnight storm caused a major power outage, officials said. 

The power went out at the casino near Loop 101 and Talking Stick Way around 2 a.m., according to officials. The lower levels of the property were flooded. 

Both customers and employees were evacuated shortly after. 

Detective Joseph Orozco, a Salt River Police Department spokesman didn’t have an exact count of the number of people evacuated, but he said approximately 800 to 900 people are typically at the property at that time.

Officials were still working to determine exactly what happened, Orozco said. 

“The lights were out and the power was out,” Orozco said. “You don’t want to play with that in a building like that with so many people. We just wanted to make sure everyone is safe.”

Many of the evacuees gathered in nearby restaurants as they awaited information about when they would be able to return to the resort. Some guests were allowed to gather their belongings. 

More than 1,600 SRP customers were still without power across the Valley Saturday morning after the monsoon storm, according to the company’s outage map.

In Goodyear, nearly 3,000 APS customers were without power after lightning hit a transformer at a substation. Crews are currently working to restore power to the area.