•It's not over: Intermittent electricity during the recent four-day freeze meant no way for water wells to refill, leading Sunland Park residents to suffer from water shortages Saturday afternoon. Possible contamination from burst pipes prompted the county to issue a boil-water advisory to Sunland Park residents.

•Plenty of businesses without water, Internet and electricity had to close their doors, including local movie theaters. For the first time in Allen Theatres history, according to vice president Russell Allen, blackouts closed the movie houses all day Friday after the outages inconvenienced movie-goers on Wednesday and Thursday. Everything was up and running as normal Saturday.

•The shutdown: After the first night of snow and cold, El Paso Electric had just one small generator producing 63 megawatts. The system needed 925. The company imported 630 megawatts from the Palo Verde nuclear plant in Arizona and about 75 more megawatts from the Four Corners region.

•The blackouts: They lasted 30 minutes, an hour, many times more - up to five hours. During peak demand, the planned outages saved El Paso Electric about 100 megawatts. Of its 370,000 customers, about 195,000 went without power for part of Wednesday - New Mexico State University alone counted nine blackouts, said Office of Facilities and Services' Glen Haubold, the sole source of regular updates about the university during the freeze.

•The dinged: police responded to more


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than 100 mostly minor car crashes between Monday night and Friday at midday in Do a Ana County; officers were too backed up to respond to about 100 more, mostly on Wednesday when slick roads and frozen hills were particularly treacherous.

•The indigent: Mesilla Valley Community of Hope and the Gospel Rescue Mission opened their warm lobbies and extra space to about 75 homeless people, who they gave blankets, hats and gloves to as they waited out the cold. Since it was the beginning of the month, a few were able to pool disability or Social Security checks to get motel rooms.

•The displaced: 20 elderly residents of St. Genevieve Village were moved to University Terrace Good Samaritan Village after burst pipes flooded the complex Friday. The American Red Cross provided more than 200 individuals with cots, blankets, food and water, including those relocated to Good Samaritan and at the La Casa domestic violence shelter.

•The hungry: Las Cruces Meals on Wheels delivered 1,320 meals - hot meals, cold breakfasts and frozen lunches - to about 220 homebound residents in its program.

•The casualties: Two nearly frozen hummingbirds, a gnat-catcher and a male hawk were brought to Pilar Hinde, of Chihuahuan Desert Wildlife Rescue. Unfortunately, the hummingbirds died when their incubators lost power during the "rolling blackouts."

•The cleanup: Plumbers and other laborers worked overtime and often deep into the night repairing pipes. Dimar Systems, which installs fire sprinkler systems, had crews working double shifts dealing with frozen systems, said co-owner Marty Campbell.

•Tip of the hat: Mayor Ken Miyagishima on Saturday praised utility workers, switchboard operators, police, fire, public safety, senior services, various support staff and public works employees for their hard work and long hours during the "extreme weather"

•Wag of the finger: Miyagishima also publicly asked El Paso Electric officials to Monday's city council meeting for an explanation about why they lost power and how they determined which areas of town to blackout.

•The time lapse: 91 hours and 39 minutes - a stretch from Monday through Friday. That's how long Las Cruces spent in below-freezing temperatures, getting as low as minus 5, a 35-year record, according to the National Weather Service.

So what's open?

•All city buildings and facilities are scheduled to re-open for normal business hours Monday. City bus and Dial-a-Ride service and trash service have also resumed.

• Las Cruces Public Schools will resume classes as normal Monday. Las Cruces High School's production of "The Crucible" has been postponed and will be performed 7 p.m. Feb. 17-19 at O ate High School's Performing Arts Center.

•Do a Ana County planned to re-open county offices and courts Monday, as long as the electric grid remains stable.

•New Mexico State University and Do a Ana Community College were expected to resume classes Monday.

Sun-News reports