Power restored to nearly 6,000 customers after APS fire-risk shutoff

PHOENIX – Arizona Public Service restored power for nearly 6,000 northern Arizona customers on Wednesday evening after shutting it off due to an elevated fire risk.

APS turned the electricity back on for all affected customers around 6:45 p.m. following crews using trucks, drones and UTVs to assess miles of powerlines in rugged terrain.

Before that, power was restored to 236 customers in Valle by 2:20 p.m. and another 151 customers in and around Grand Canyon National Park by 4:30 p.m., APS said in an update.

The utility company made the move in response to the combination of forecast wind gusts of nearly 60 mph, extremely dry terrain and other factors.

Meteorologists and fire mitigation specialists were concerned that electrical equipment could start or contribute to wildfires if left operating under the projected conditions.

On Tuesday, customers in eastern Flagstaff and surrounding areas were warned about a potential temporary outage.

Where did APS cut power on Wednesday?

The power was cut in the following communities at 9 a.m. Wednesday:

• 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)

The APS outage map showed over 5,900 customers in the affected areas.

APS is Arizona’s largest power company, providing electricity for about 1.4 million customers statewide.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s David Iversen and Kylie Werner contributed to this report. 

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