Fire stations, shelters, hospitals, houses of worship hit with blackouts
It seems no one is immune from possible power outages.
AUSTIN (KXAN)-- It seems no one is immune from possible power outages.
On Wednesday, Baylor Scott and White in Taylor and
Ascension Seton Northwest told KXAN they're running on backup generators.
St. David's North Austin Medical Center said its power is back, but out of an abundance of caution, it has re-scheduled elective procedures.
Austin Fire said it has had 15 stations fluctuating in and out of power.
"We do have some that are on generator power, and we have some with no power," said Peter Teliha, AFD chief of logistics.
Teliha said some buildings have been renovated since the 2021 winter storm, which is keeping crews more insulated.
But he also said firefighters are used to staying at stations overnight.
"When we hear the weather's going to be bad, we bring extra clothes and an extra blanket and maybe an extra sleeping bag," he said. "So, our folks are ready to hunker down and stay put."
Austin Public Health, which manages the City of Austin's cold weather shelters, said it housed more than 400 people Tuesday night at four shelters.
APH said a couple of them also experienced blackouts, and staff either brought in a generator or moved people to different locations.
An APH spokesperson said they are now utilizing 311-- if people need a ride to a shelter, they can call to be connected.
The weight of it all is prompting houses of worship, like the North Austin Muslim Community Center, at 11900 N Lamar Blvd, to become warming centers.
"We were hearing from the community from friends and all that," said NAMCC president Aijaz Hassan. "I immediately contacted my team."
Austin's largest mosque is keeping its doors open overnight, after bouncing back from an outage themselves, with prayer areas becoming sleeping rooms.
"We have internet, if people are working remotely from home," said a mosque staff member. "Pray and relax."
They're also offering food from their reserves typically distributed to neighbors every Sunday, and volunteers are coming in to prepare dinner for overnight guests.
"I always tell everybody, yeah, this is a Islamic center. But this is also the community center. It's open to anybody, everybody-- whoever needs to come," Hassan said.