Jim Wells County, Alice declare disaster after severe storm power outages

Alice and Jim Wells County declared a disaster after Thursday storms left more than 3,000 customers without power across the Coastal Bend, including homes in Alice, Driscoll and Petronila. Residents who depend on electricity for medical devices, refrigerated medications, work or childcare had to move fast to backup power, a safer location or another way to keep critical items running.

Wind gusts reached up to 89 mph in Alice on Thursday night, tearing off roofs and upending power poles. An emergency manager reported trees and power lines down in Alice at 9:43 p.m., and law enforcement reported a tractor-trailer flipped on Highway 281. The damage showed how quickly the storm moved from a weather event to a public safety emergency.

The outage spread beyond one neighborhood or one city block. With more than 3,000 customers still in the dark, the storm knocked out service across multiple communities and created the kind of ripple effect that follows major utility damage in South Texas. Traffic signals can go dark, refrigerated food and medicine can spoil, internet service can fail and families in rural areas can be left without reliable charging, cooling or water service if they depend on electric pumps.

For Alice and Jim Wells County officials, the disaster declarations signaled that the storm had done enough damage to require coordinated response. That kind of declaration can help clear the way for emergency support and recovery resources when residents are dealing with downed lines, blocked roads and uncertain power restoration.

Recovery efforts continued after the worst of the storm passed. A resource-information center later opened in Alice to help Jim Wells County residents recover. A separate video update showed Petronila and Driscoll residents receiving food and water after days without power, underscoring how long the disruption lasted for some families. Two weeks after the storm, Jim Wells County residents were also seeking federal aid, a sign that the damage stretched well beyond a single night of outages.

The storm left a clear record in Alice: violent wind, downed infrastructure, a flipped tractor-trailer on Highway 281 and thousands still without electricity. For families across Jim Wells County, the immediate problem was not just the blackout itself but the loss of the systems that keep daily life running.