SOUTHERN COLORADO (KOAA) — Southern Colorado agencies and utility companies are preparing for high fire-risk conditions on Wednesday.
Red Flag Warnings have already been issued because of the expected dry and windy weather.
Black Hills Energy says they are monitoring high winds and dry conditions in Wednesday's forecast. Black Hills says they do not expect to have an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff, but they are monitoring conditions.
Xcel Energy says power shutoffs are likely to help reduce those wildfire risks in northern Colorado counties.
As for Colorado Springs Utilities, they sent News5 the following statement regarding their preparations for Wednesday:
"We do not currently have a formal public safety power shutoff policy as our priority is to keep customers in service whenever possible. As laid out in our Wildfire Mitigation Plan, we believe focusing on system improvements and mitigation strategies is the best approach to reduce wildfire risk.
We are monitoring tomorrow's weather conditions closely to ensure we can promptly address any service incidents if they arise. Our crews are always on standby, ready to respond swiftly.
We are one of the most reliable utilities in the nation, with power on more than 99.99% of the time. Preparation for weather events is an integral part of our year-round operations. This includes efforts to enhance the reliability of our system and mitigate risks to overhead lines. The majority of our electric distribution system is underground."
The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) says they will bring it more firefighters Wednesday because of the dangerous winds.
CSFD is showing what conditions may look like on Wednesday. They used the AI generated photo below saying things that aren't supposed to fly will try, and fires will spread fast:
CSFD says if you have holiday decorations outside, you will want to bring them in on Wednesday.
"Wildfire season is 365 days out of the year here," said Ashley Franco with CSFD. "One of the big things we're worried about is those dry fuels. Our humidity is going to be low tomorrow (Wednesday)... one spark could take off and really do a lot of damage to our city."
CSFD says they will be moving more resources to the west side of the city Wednesday since is more susceptible to wildfires. They also say to make sure you have battery powered lights on hand and ready to go in case of a power outage.
The department is also warning against using candles during power outages because of the fire risk.
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