As of Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service (NWS) recorded about 3 to 7 inches of snowfall. NWS Meteorologist Brian Klimowski explained that the certainty of these snowfalls was made difficult by “blizzard conditions” and the severity of the winds blowing the snow across the landscape. NWS recorded gusts up to 74 mph in the Flagstaff area.

“When you add wind to the situation – visibility, drivability, power outages, road closures – a lot of the effects are magnified,” Klimowski said.

The utility company Arizona Public Service (APS) reported that 24 percent of its customers in Coconino County are without power, according to Coconino County officials. Electricity on Wednesday morning. At the height of the blackout, 7,700 customers lost power. This included his NWS office, which continued to monitor the weather thanks to a “robust backup system” through his Las Vegas office.

For Donnie Park resident Nicole Young, a power outage meant lighting the wood stove to keep the kids warm, but even this solution was difficult due to the unrelenting wind.

Shortly after lighting her fire, “smoke came into the house and the smoke alarm went off,” Young said. “I had to open the whole house to get the smoke out.”

Upon investigation, Young discovered that the gust had bent the roof’s spark arrestor at an angle, blowing smoke into the chimney.

After ventilating the house, the young men huddled in a single room.

“We have an 8-week-old and a 2-year-old at home, so keeping warm is paramount,” she said. “Hopefully they get their power back soon.”

Power was eventually restored to many Doney Park customers around 8:00 a.m., but the outage also affected the local water utility, Doney Park Water (DPW). As a result, customers have experienced low or lost water pressure in their homes.

According to DPW general manager Marc Twidwell, the power outage “brought down two main wells and several other booster stations.”

“We’ve already seen some booster stations come back up,” Tidwell reported around 8:30 am. He expected other facilities to be up and running by 11am.

Meanwhile, DPW customer DJ Montoya set up a ‘water making station’ in his home to melt a large pot of snow on top of a cast iron wood stove.

“We camp a lot, so right now we’re just using at home what we can do in the woods,” said Montoya. “This is a great lesson for my son too. Don’t worry. Identify the problem and come up with a solution.”

Power outages were more sporadic deep within Flagstaff’s urban areas. According to Fourth Street resident Jason Spoon, “two of his one-second blackouts” occurred that morning.

“Besides, it’s just an ice storm here,” he added.

Flagstaff resident Rob Jones described the scene as a “horizontal snow festival”.

“I saw a dumpster fly 10 feet out of the snow bed,” Jones said. “An Unpleasant Day on the Colorado Plateau”

As the day went on, APS continued to update its estimated restoration time.In certain affected areas, hopes for power restoration were pushed further into the evening.

For Continental Country Club resident Sherri Jablonski, this means she can expect no electricity for more than 13 hours in the cold with winds of around 3 degrees Fahrenheit, a frustrating situation. bottom.

“APS knew this was coming,” says Jablonski. “They said they were ready.”

To cope, Jablonski set up a camp stove in his garage to prepare food and hot water. By noon, her home was able to maintain her 50-degree temperature, but she still “dressed in layers” to stay warm.

To help affected residents in the Continental Country Club area, Coconino County Emergency Services and the Red Cross installed a warming station at Sinagua Middle School.

The situation in Munds Park was particularly dire, with power outages affecting more than 3,000 customers. By noon, it was estimated that the area would be without power until 10pm. To add to the severity, there was also a propane outage at Munds Park, and installation of a warming shelter at Munds Park Community Church was delayed due to a failure of the power supply. Location backup generator.

According to Mackenzie Rodgers, director of the APS Division, power losses in the Munds Park area are multiple, both on small residential lines and on larger “main” transmission lines that run parallel to Interstate 17. was due to a power outage. She reported that the crew encountered damage to the power line when high winds snapped the tops of the trees and flew into the power lines surrounding them.

“These are healthy trees,” she said. “We’re getting the trees blowing into these lines she’s a mile away.”

Rodgers said the crew identified multiple areas in need of repair. They were able to work their way through Mann’s Park all day, restoring power to about 300 community members before nightfall.

Wednesday marked the beginning of APS’s “marathon” to deal with the outage.

“This is a really dynamic situation,” said Rogers. “The wind is still blowing. Our people are seeing snowdrifts in excess of 10 feet. is driving the

With snow and wind expected, and a number of similar incidents in northern Arizona, Rogers said APS is preparing for a lengthy response.

“We have incrementally adjusted our resources so that we don’t exhaust all of our resources in this first operational period,” Rodgers said. “At the moment, it will continue to snow until Thursday or Friday, or even Saturday.

“We will not stop until all our customers have recovered,” she added.

By Wednesday afternoon, the NWS had extended its original winter storm warning to 11am Friday. In the meantime, officials estimate there could be 9 to 15 inches of new snow, wind chill temperatures could drop to minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit, and winds with continued gusts of up to 45 mph. As forecast, the Flagstaff area is expected to see a brief break on Friday night, with another heavy snowfall likely on Saturday night.

“[Saturday night] Mr Krymovsky said: This is a rapidly evolving event. ”

For the latest information on APS outages, please visit: outagemap.aps.com/outageviewer/