A power outage hit the City of Kirby on Thursday, knocking out traffic lights along FM 78 and taking down city phone lines, though 911 service remained available for emergencies. Crews were working to assess the problem and restore electricity as officials warned residents in affected areas that they could be without power for a while.
The City of Kirby shared the update in a Facebook post Thursday evening, confirming the outage and noting that city phone lines were down as a result. The post stressed that 911 remained operational for anyone with an emergency, even as the city's regular phone lines stayed offline.
Treat Dark Signals as Four-Way Stops
Among the most immediate concerns for drivers: traffic lights along FM 78 were out as of Thursday, according to the city's post. Officials urged motorists to use extreme caution and treat affected intersections as four-way stops where appropriate, a standard safety measure when signals go dark unexpectedly.
The city did not specify which intersections along the corridor were impacted or how widespread the outage was. Crews were still working to assess and restore electricity service as of the update, and residents in affected areas were told they may remain without power while that work continues.
How to Report Related Problems
The city's post did not identify the power provider responsible for restoring service to the area. Separately, CPS Energy, which serves parts of the greater San Antonio region, has posted general guidance for customers dealing with outages: the utility says gas outages and downed power lines cannot be reported through its online form and asks customers to call directly instead. CPS Energy's customer outage page states plainly, “Please call us for prompt assistance,” adding that “reporting this to CPS Energy directly allows us to prioritize the work” when it comes to downed lines.
For now, the City of Kirby said local officials and the power provider would share updates as the situation develops. No estimated restoration time had been announced as of Thursday's post, and residents were left to wait on word from the city and utility crews working to bring the lights, and the signals, back on.
