Spanish Trail Apartments still operating off of a generator while owner fixes electrical panels
It’s been over a month since an arson fire at the Spanish Trail Apartments caused a power outage that lasted several days. KGUN 9 received a phone call from a woman who says she lives at the apartments and still experiences outages multiple times a week.
KGUN 9 South Tucson Reporter Reyna Preciado looked into the issue and spoke with the owner, Brian Bowers. Bowers confirmed the property is still operating off a generator due to the arson fire. He says there have been fewer than five instances in which the generator has stopped working.
"We've had a couple of outages that have not lasted very long, and the company has always responded with their technician within an hour, and they've got everything up and going. There have been a couple of times they've had to replace the generator, and they've done that also," said Bowers.
Bowers says the process to get the permits related to repairing electrical panels that were damaged in the arson fire has been delayed and he blames the City of South Tucson. He believes the process would be quicker in the City of Tucson or Pima County.
The City of South Tucson provided a timeline of events to show the process:
06/04/25 – Brian Bowers, Applicant/owner, obtained the necessary permits for new electrical panels
06/11/25 – Partial Inspection Approved pending full compliance
06/16/25 – Partial Inspection Approved pending full compliance
06/18/25 – Failed Inspection
06/20/25 - City Inspection approved for electrical clearance. The applicant is now required to submit an application to Tucson Electric Power (TEP) for a field inspection. Once TEP has completed and approved their inspection, the applicant must contact the City inspector to conduct a final inspection.
RELATED STORY: City of South Tucson files lawsuit to force demolition of Spanish Trail Motel
Bowers says he's also working with Pima County to sell the property in addition to the ongoing lawsuit with South Tucson.
He says he is concerned about his tenants' living conditions.
"We are concerned about that, and anytime it happens, we try to get it fixed immediately. That's one of the reasons we added on a fuel cell, because instead of getting fuel delivered every day, they can do it once a week, because we can hold 500 gallons in the fuel cell, plus 100 gallons in the generator, and that should last eight to 10 days."
Residents, former tenant describe conditions at Spanish Trail Apartments
In addition to the woman who reached out to KGUN 9, who did not wish to go on camera, Riley Orosz shared her experience at the Spanish Trail Apartments.
Riley Orosz recently moved into a new apartment in South Tucson after living at Spanish Trail for two months.
“I was paying, like, the $875 rent every month, and then plus the electric bill. But for what?” she said.
Orosz was living on the property at the time of the arson fire that sparked the outage. She says she experienced recurring power issues after the fire.
“My power was flickering, you could literally hear it click,” she said. “That would happen frequently, once or twice a week. Then there’d be a break, and it would happen again. But nothing would be done about it.”
Bowers showed South Tucson Reporter Reyna Preciado the power source supplied by TEP connected to Orosz's apartment, different from the area powered by a generator. He says the outage caused by the fire wouldn't have affected her.
Still, Orosz says she experienced the outage and the impacts afterward.
While Riley has moved out, some tenants remain. Several residents declined to go on camera but expressed concerns about the ongoing power issues.
What can tenants do? Southern Arizona Legal Aid weighs in
While Bowers says he hasn't had any issues with tenants wanting to leave, local organizations have stepped in to help, including Tucson Tenants Union and Southern Arizona Legal Aid. A week after the fire, Attorney Skyler Clary spoke with residents about their rights.
“The tenant can give proper notice and move out if the landlord doesn’t make repairs quickly enough, which feels like punishing the tenant for the landlord’s misconduct, to me,” said Clary.
Clary explained that while the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act requires landlords to maintain essential services, tenants often face limited options.
“There’s really not a remedy in the Landlord-Tenant Act,” Clary said. “It basically offers two options: the tenant can move or try to sue or demand compensation. But for landlords who just refuse to repair, there’s really not a lot of options in the law.”
Clary says it can be especially difficult for tenants to move to another place, especially if they're disabled. He believes the law should be expanded to make the process easier for tenants.
"So really, there are a bunch of rights on paper that can't be enforced in person, and that's that's the problem. When a when a tenant does something that's against the lease or against the law, the landlord can get them in court as fast as 11 days later on an eviction case," explained Clary. "When a landlord does something against the law or against the lease, the tenant has to find a lawyer and do an ordinary civil suit, which can take years to make its way through the court."
Clary says any tenant in need of assistance can reach out to Southern Arizona Legal Aid.
What's next?
When asked what should happen to the complex, Riley Orosz didn’t hold back.
“Honestly? And this is, like, my honest, respectful opinion—I feel like it should all just be torn down and rebuilt. Start fresh, you know? Honestly.”
That might not be far off. The property owner says he is working to sell the complex to Pima County, a deal that could close within the next few months, depending on the outcome of South Tucson's lawsuit.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
