Fire danger “critical”; leads to potential power shutoffs
Michael Logerwell
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – El Paso County is under a Stage 2 fire restriction. Parts of Pueblo and Fremont County could see their power turned off; Southern Colorado is already feeling the impact of fire danger without smoke filling the sky.
RELATED: Black Hills Energy on emergency shutoff watch in select counties due to fire danger
“I think we’re at a critical position with our fire danger,” said Cimarron Hills Fire Chief, Andrew York.
A quarter after 11:00 A.M. Monday, members of the Cimarron Hills Fire Department responded to a mutual aid request from the Falcon Fire Department.
Picture of the grass fire from the CMFD social media account.
The fire only burned around 12 acres, but not due to a lack of fuel.
“When you start looking at our fuel moisture, if you look at even just the mountains that have had very little snow this year. So our snowpack is down a lot from what it normally is. We just haven’t had the moisture through the winter. We didn’t really have a lot of moisture last year either,” said Chief York.
Two years in a row with subpar precipitation and increased wind gusts are why El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal enacted stage 2 fire restrictions on Monday, and why many fire departments, including CMFD, brought in extra staff for Monday.
“The current conditions create an extreme risk for wildfires, which can spread rapidly and threaten lives, homes, and critical infrastructure,” said Sheriff Roybal.
For residents of El Paso County, that means some activities are prohibited:
Open Burning & Fires: All open fires and open burning are prohibited. This includes campfires, warming fires, charcoal grill fires, and the use of wood-burning stoves (except as noted below).
Fireworks: The sale and use of all fireworks is strictly prohibited.
Outdoor Smoking: Smoking is prohibited outdoors. Smoking is only allowed within an enclosed vehicle or building.
Explosives: The use of explosives is prohibited.
Fire conditions like these also affect firefighters. “There’s the mindset of getting out there quicker and getting things rolling,” said Cody Schauer, a firefighter with CMFD.
Schauer was one of the CMFD firefighters who responded to the mutual aid request out in Falcon.
“All of us that are on the brush [fire truck], we’re already in our greens and our equipment for fighting wildland fires. Anything that goes out will start rolling that way even before we’re dispatched. Just so, if they do need us, we’re already almost there,” Schauer said the department also spends more time briefing on fire conditions.
“There’s a heightened awareness of everything going on,” Schauer said.
Power Concerns
Elsewhere in Southern Colorado, different precautions have been undertaken.
“The safety of our customers, employees, and communities is our highest priority,” said Campbell Hawkins, Vice President of Colorado Utilities for Black Hills Energy. “Our Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff program, or PSPS, is a critical tool for wildfire prevention and used as a last-resort measure to protect lives and property and will only be activated in areas with elevated wildfire risk.”
Black Hills Energy is putting customers on alert. Their power might get shut off on Tuesday.
“We recognize that shutting off power, even to reduce wildfire risks, has broad impacts,” said Hawkins.
The energy company said on Monday that isolated portions of Crowley County, Fremont County, Otero County, Pueblo County, and the cities of Cripple Creek, Victor, and Westcliffe in Teller County are under an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff Watch.
That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen or even that it’s likely. It means that if fire conditions persist or worsen, Black Hills could temporarily shut off power to approximately 5,400 customers in these areas from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday to mitigate the risk of electrical infrastructure becoming a source of wildfire ignition.
Black Hills is asking that customers in those areas, who have been notified, have a backup plan for medicine that needs to be refrigerated or medical equipment that is powered by electricity.
To keep up to date on updates from Black Hills, click here, or you can find them on social media.