Wednesday's storm knocked down power lines in Scottsdale

Wednesday night's storm knocked down trees and power lines in Scottsdale, even some of the steel poles that have recently been put up.

An area in the intersection of Loop 101 and Pima in Scottsdale was hit especially hard. An APS manager described it as a "domino effect". When the wooden poles fell, it even took down the stronger steel ones.

"So this doesn't happen very often," said APS Manager Kyle Woolfolk. "We had a pretty bad storm that happened last night."

Woolfolk said he's been working all morning, and described Wednesday night's wind as 70 mph (112.65 kmh) gusts that brought down even their strongest metal poles.

"These nine poles, we would expect -- we're going to work around the clock and through the weekend and we would like to have this back up by Sunday night," said Woolfolk.

Nine poles are down, and wires are all over the street, which means dozens of workers are needed.

"You can see there's quite a few people out here today, and it takes a culmination effort of our hole diggers, our material haulers and alignment to get this work done safely," said Woolfolk.

Woolfolk says it can't happen overnight, especially out in the heat, all-day long.

"I'm doing well. I've stayed hydrated," said Woolfolk. "I started drinking water last evening, knowing I was going to be out here today, and I continue to drink water. Even if you're not thirsty, you continue to drink water."

Thankfully, these downed lines and power poles haven't effected any homes, but when they do on other occasions...

"[Be] patient with us, as we know that a storm comes like this, everyone wants to know when their power's going to be restored," said Woofolk. "So, I hope this gives you a little bit of an insight and what it takes for all these men and women to get out here."

As of Thursday afternoon, N. Pima Rd. is closed from the 101 to Legacy Blvd. While it will take several days to completely restore all of these poles, the crews here say they hope to have the roadway reopened by Friday morning.

Meanwhile, power lines fell due to gusty winds in another part of Scottsdale. APS crews worked hard through the night and into Thursday, in the area of Deer Valley and Scottsdale Roads.

"I thought two card hit, actually, with how loud it was," said one person, identified only as "Paula". "I heard it all the way in the store."

That sound was the sound of several power poles crashing down. Some of the live power lines fell on cars.

"It was like something from a movie. We had sparks everywhere," said Stella Rolinson, who was driving home from work when she became trapped in her SUV. "The wire snapped, and there were sparks all over my car and suddenly, my side mirror is on fire, outside initially. I'm looking at it thinking that's not good."

The fire then spread into the car, and Rolinson quickly moved into the passenger seat. Within seconds, a complete stranger was standing at the door.

"I kind of figured, well, he's standing on the road and he's still alive, so I'm going to," said Rolinson. "He helped me out of my car."

Without hesitation, Andrew Stoe, whose car was also trapped under the live wire, was there to help.

"Carefully got in between each wire, and walked over to make sure she's OK. Guided her out of her car," said Stoe.

No one was hurt in this incident.