Power outage affecting thousands in SW OK, here is what we know so far

UPDATE (9:30 p.m.): PSO released a statement claiming that power will be restored between now and 11:00 p.m. Thursday

Bishop Public Schools has announced that, due to uncertainty from the power outage, the school will be canceled on Thursday, Sept. 21.

UPDATE (5:30 p.m.): The Comanche Nation Emergency Management has set up two cooling and charging stations for those citizens in need due to the power outages.

The first center is located at Watchetaker Hall at the Comanche Nation Complex on 584 NW Bingo Road. The second is located at the Comanche Nation Elderly Center on 1107 SW H Avenue.

Both stations will be open until 11 p.m. tonight, Sept. 20, 2023, but will reopen at 7 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2023.

Goodyear of Lawton has also made changes due to the power outages. They are reducing their power consumption to ease the strain being put on the power grid. engineering-maintenance staff, area managers, and manufacturing crew leaders for C crew will work as scheduled. Goodyear of Lawton states that all other departments will not report tonight, Sept. 20, 2023.

UPDATE (3:30 p.m.): Lawton Area Transit System (LATS) will only run services from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, due to the power outages. LATS will also only run counterclockwise, according to a LATS press release.

Comanche County Memorial Hospital (CCMH) are closing their Lawton Community Health Center and Memorial Medical Group clinics only in Lawton this afternoon, Sept. 20, 2023. Their outpatient lab and radiology services will also be closed this afternoon.

The emergency room at CCMH is still open and parts of the hospital remain on backup power.

Cameron University’s Lawton campus is closing for the remainder of today, Sept. 20, 2023. Cameron states they will send a notification before 7 a.m. on Sept. 21, if classes are affected.

UPDATE (3 p.m.): The Great Plains Technology Center will be closed tonight, Sept. 20, 2023, due to power outages.

UPDATE (2:30 p.m.): PSO has said they think it will be at least until this evening or tomorrow before power is fully restored to the area.

Lawton Public Schools has said that their intentions are to have school tomorrow at all sites that have power. They stated that families will receive notification if their school site is without power by 6 a.m., Sept. 21, 2023.

A lot of traffic lights in Lawton do not have power and are currently operating as four-way stops. Please exercise caution when driving.

UPDATE (10 a.m.): The Comanche County Courthouse will be closed today, Sept. 20, 2023, due to the power outages.

UPDATE (9:23 a.m.): The power outages are affecting City of Lawton buildings. Due to this, the Lawton Public Library and recreation centers will open at 1 p.m. if the power is restored by then.

While Lawton City Hall is without power, the building is open to citizens. However, customers can expect delays in conducting business.

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - In the early morning hours of Sept. 20, 2023, a power outage caused 11,000 customers to not have power and a total of 22,000 customers to be affected in Elgin, Sterling, Lawton, Apache, and surrounding areas.

This outage caused Flower Mound, Bishop, Fletcher and Elgin Public Schools to cancel classes.

Lawton Public Schools will be closed but turn to virtual once power is restored. Sterling Public Schools also went virtual due to the outage.

PSO confirmed that a fire at a substation and the storms overnight caused the power outage.

No time was given on when power will be restored.

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