Private prisons lose power after storms in Eloy; prisoners report 'stifling' conditions

Incarcerated people are reporting "stifling" conditions as two private prisons located in Eloy are without a main power source after recent storms.

On Monday night, the Department of Corrections confirmed the Red Rock Correctional Center was running on generator power, and "an additional industrial-sized generator is on-site and is expected to be operational within the next few hours" at the La Palma Correctional Center "to provide the power needed to run the A/C units there."

Both facilities are run by private prison operator CoreCivic and contracted by Arizona to house people in state custody. There were 1,868  prisoners at Red Rock and 952 prisoners at La Palma as of July 18. CoreCivic also houses people in the custody of the federal government.

Arizona signed a contract to transfer 2,706 prisoners from the state prison in Florence to the La Palma facility in December 2021, after Gov. Doug Ducey announced plans to shut down the Florence prison. The state is paying CoreCivic $85.12 per prisoner, per day for the contract, with a guaranteed minimum 90% occupancy rate.

"La Palma's preferred power was impacted due to last night's storm which also caused outages in the local community including Eloy, Arizona City and portions of Casa Grande," a DOC spokesperson said in an email. The spokesperson said power was not expected to be restored at La Palma until "early Wednesday morning."

"Red Rock is currently up and running on generator power until preferred power is also fully restored," the spokesperson said. "In the meantime, air conditioning is currently working in inmate cells. Ice is additionally being provided to inmates at each location."

But prisoners at both facilities, who spoke with The Arizona Republic and requested to remain anonymous, reported high temperatures and uncomfortable conditions. Like much of Arizona, temperatures in Eloy were well above 100 degrees Sunday and Monday, and expected to reach 110 Tuesday.

A prisoner at the La Palma prison said the facility had been without kitchen services, laundry and hot water since Sunday evening.

"They won't crack our doors for airflow, and they are keeping us locked in the stifling cells," he said. 

An incarcerated man at the Red Rock facility said the power outage affected their ability to make phone calls and email with loved ones on their tablets.

"We have no phone calls, no TV, can't cook basically just sitting ducks," he said. "We been on lock down since last night. They are saying that it will be three days before they get power back on."

Another prisoner at Red Rock said it was so humid the floor of their cell was sweating.

Have a news tip on Arizona prisons? Reach the reporter at jjenkins@arizonarepublic.com or at 812-243-5582. Follow him on Twitter @JimmyJenkins.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.