PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — Residents in Pueblo, Crowley, Otero, and Fremont Counties should prepare for a potential energy blackout on Tuesday as Black Hills Energy says they are monitoring high fire conditions.
In a news release on Monday, the utility provider said they declared an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Watch that will last through Tuesday or as long as high fire conditions persist. As of Tuesday, this has been upgraded to a PSPS Warning.
The PSPS Watch will go into place on Monday at 12:00 p.m. For residents in the isolated parts of Pueblo, Crowley, Otero, and Fremont Counties, the company may shut off power to around 5,400 customers between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m Tuesday to prevent any electrical equipment from becoming the source of a wildfire.
An update from Black Hills Energy on Monday evening, the PSPS Watch expanded to customers in the Cripple Creek, Victor, and Westcliffe areas as well.
“We recognize that shutting off power, even to reduce wildfire risks, has broad impacts,” said Campbell Hawkins, Vice President of Colorado Utilities. “We will do our best to provide as much advance notice as possible if an emergency power shutoff is likely to occur, by issuing a PSPS Warning. If conditions suddenly become hazardous, power may need to be shut off with little or no notice.”
The utility company says customers can better prepare themselves and stay up to date on the outages by doing the following: Keeping an eye on the Black Hills Energy Outage Map
How you can prepare
- Keep your contact information up to date with Black Hills Energy so we can provide safety notifications and direct you to our website for helpful tips and resources. Visit blackhillsenergy.com/my-account.
- Have a backup plan for medicine that needs to be refrigerated or medical equipment that is powered by electricity. This could mean finding a place to go during an outage or having a backup generator.
- Build an emergency kit and plan and share with friends and neighbors.
- If you see downed powerlines, stay away and call 911.
How to stay informed
- For more information on an Emergency PSPS visit blackhillsenergy.com/psps [blackhillsenergy.com]
- Our Facebook page @BlackHillsEnergy
- We will also bring you the latest across the various KOAA5 platforms.
Across Southern Colorado, a high-wind warning has been issued by the National Weather Service in Pueblo, with gusts across the specified areas of up to 60 mph or more.
The First Alert 5 team is continuing to monitor conditions, and you can get a sneak peek of what we are expecting in the coming days by watching the forecast below.
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