Storm Knocks Out Power Across Far North Fort Worth, City Opens Pet-Friendly Shelter

Fort Worth officials opened the Betsy Price Community Center as an emergency shelter starting at 6 p.m. yesterday, welcoming displaced residents and their pets after severe storms knocked out power across the northern part of the city. The city asked anyone bringing an animal to try to bring a crate, if possible. The shelter sits at 8375 Blue Mound Road, in the heart of the area hit hardest by outages.

The announcement came directly from the City of Fort Worth, which posted the update Thursday evening confirming the shelter's hours and pet policy. Storms the previous evening left properties across Far North Fort Worth without power, and the city noted that other community centers and libraries remain available for drop-ins, though residents should call ahead to confirm a location is open before heading over.

Storms Tore Through Tarrant County Wednesday Night

The outages trace back to severe thunderstorms that rolled through Tarrant, Wise, and Denton counties on Wednesday evening, producing wind gusts between 55 and 70 mph, according to FOX 4 News. The system downed trees, damaged structures, and triggered outdoor warning sirens in Haslet as it moved through the region during the evening commute. The station reported the storms resulted in more than 6,400 Oncor power outages across Tarrant County, with at least 2,298 customer outages in Fort Worth alone extending into Thursday morning.

The outages fit into a broader pattern this month. High heat and repeated severe thunderstorm activity throughout August created recurring stress on the electrical grid across Dallas-Fort Worth, causing localized power outages in multiple neighborhoods, per a report from CBS News Texas.

A Newly Built Facility Steps Into an Emergency Role

The community center pressed into service Thursday night is a relatively new addition to Far North Fort Worth. It held its grand opening in June 2025 after the Fort Worth City Council voted to rename the facility from the Northwest Community Center in honor of Betsy Price, who served as the city's mayor from 2011 to 2021 and is its longest-serving mayor.

The 25,000-square-foot building sits inside the 250-acre Northwest Community Park and was the final project funded by Fort Worth's voter-approved 2018 bond program, according to Athletic Business. Getting the center built required specialized site studies, floodplain and drainage engineering, utility extensions, and a vehicular access bridge to connect the remote park site to nearby arterial roads.

Under normal circumstances, the center hosts youth sports and after-school programs, with amenities including a full hardwood basketball court, a fitness room, group exercise rooms, a culinary teaching kitchen, and reservable multipurpose rooms. Its lobby also houses “Open Plains,” a kinetic public art installation by artist Matthew Mazzotta featuring mechanical bird sculptures gliding over an artificial-turf seating berm, commissioned through the Fort Worth Public Art program.

Part of a Larger Push to Build Out Far North Fort Worth

The shelter opening lands amid years of municipal investment in the fast-growing Blue Mound corridor. In December 2024, the city purchased the 298-acre Tinsley Ranch near Blue Mound Road for $13.4 million to expand parkland in underserved areas of Far North Fort Worth, a move Hoodline covered in its report on the Tinsley Ranch deal. That acquisition was part of Mayor Mattie Parker's initiative to preserve 10,000 acres of greenspace.

More recently, Fort Worth voters passed a major infrastructure bond package in May 2026 allocating over $511 million for mobility projects and $185 million for park upgrades citywide. The city has used bond propositions like this one periodically to keep pace with rapid urban expansion in areas like Far North Fort Worth, where new residential growth continues to outstrip existing infrastructure.

For now, the immediate need is more basic: keeping residents safe and cool while Oncor crews work to restore power. The city's pet policy for the shelter mirrors guidelines aimed at keeping families together during displacement emergencies, allowing crated animals to stay with their owners rather than forcing a difficult choice during an already stressful night.