Arizona Public Service temporarily shut off power for parts of the Flagstaff area Wednesday due to extreme fire risk.
Officials say the outage impacts 6,000 customers in limited, high-risk fire communities. This includes:
- Doney Park
- Timberline
- Fernwood
- Mormon Lake
- Cosnino
- Sunset Crater
- Walnut Canyon
- Valle
- Some locations in and around Grand Canyon National Park, excluding Grand Canyon Village
APS estimates the outage will last approximately 12 to 24 hours.
The shutoff is intended to help prevent electrical equipment from starting fires or contributing to wildfires. Wind gusts are forecast to reach nearly 60 miles per hour near critical infrastructure. APS says those conditions – coupled with dry terrain and other factors – create elevated wildfire risk.
The utility says meteorologists and fire mitigation specialists will closely monitor conditions and coordinate with local emergency management.
The actual restoration time will be determined based on weather conditions.
APS says the shutoffs are meant to prevent electrical equipment from sparking or contributing to new fires on an already risky day. Crews could cancel outages if conditions improve.
A Red Flag Warning is in effect much of northeastern Arizona Wednesday, specifically the Navajo Nation and Little Colorado River Valley.
The Murdoch Community Center in Flagstaff is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for affected residents to get additional information, charge medical devices or phones and refrigerate medication.
Details and a map of impacted locations are available at aps.com/psps.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
