Power Outages Planned in Arizona to Mitigate Wildfire Risks
In response to severe fire hazards, Arizona Public Service (APS) has announced plans to cut off electricity for a significant number of residents in the Flagstaff and Grand Canyon regions this coming Saturday. The precautionary move aims to reduce the risk of wildfires sparked by downed power lines.
APS has indicated that the power shutdown could commence as early as 10 a.m., contingent on any substantial changes in the weather forecast. This decision follows a Red Flag Warning issued by the National Weather Service, which has highlighted the critical fire weather conditions affecting much of the state over the weekend.
The shut-off is expected to impact around 8,000 customers residing in east Flagstaff and adjacent rural areas. Communities such as Doney Park, Timberline, Fernwood, Mormon Lake, Cosnino, Sunset Crater, Fort Valley/Baderville, Walnut Canyon, and Valle will experience the outage. Additionally, residents of Tusayan and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon will be affected.
To assist those impacted by the power cut, Flagstaff’s Murdoch Community Center will be available from 9 a.m. on Saturday. The center will provide charging facilities for phones and medical devices and offer refrigeration for medications.
This planned outage marks the second time APS has implemented a public safety shutoff, following a similar initiative in April. During that event, some rural areas experienced disruptions to their drinking water supply due to reduced pressure in water pumps, particularly in Doney Park.
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