After a winter storm with high winds brought power outages around Quad City late Tuesday and early Wednesday, the Yavapai County Emergency Management Office opened a “warming center” in Prescott Valley to help those without fevers stay warm. was established. .
A Wednesday, Feb. 22 news release from Yavapai County predicted that many areas and communities around the Prescott area would be without power through Wednesday night.
The news release added that the Yavapai County Emergency Management Department worked with the American Red Cross to provide a warming center at 6411 N. Robert Road, Prescott Valley, Humboldt School District Administration Building. The center was expected to be open until Wednesday night.
About 1,500 customers in the Northwest area, including the Prescott area, were affected by the power outage on Wednesday afternoon, said Darla Deville, public affairs manager for the Northwest Division of Arizona Public Service (APS).
“It was a very dynamic situation,” Deville said of the storm, which reportedly brought winds in the range of 50 to 60 miles per hour to the area. “The wind blew away everything the people didn’t secure, and many trees fell.”
Strong winds caused the power outage to occur between about midnight Tuesday and 4 a.m. Wednesday, Deville said. In some cases power is restored within minutes, and in other cases APS workers have to deal with road closures, poor road conditions and rough terrain, including wooded areas, causing APS crew, said a county news release.
“The length of time[of the blackout]will vary,” Deville said, adding that APS hopes to restore power across the county by about 6 p.m. Wednesday. I work 24/7,” she added.
Deville said most of the blackout occurred in the Dewey Humboldt, Mayer and Chino Valley areas, with some in the Walker Road area.
The APS website has a map detailing the outage, including the estimated number of customers affected. Maps are available online at https://outagemap.aps.com/outageviewer/.
After a day of high winds and snow in the Prescott area on Wednesday, the National Weather Service forecast a “patchy snowstorm”, a snow shower with southerly winds of 22 to 28 miles per hour, on Thursday morning, Feb. 23. I’m here. Winds gust as high as 43 miles per hour.
Thursday night, the National Weather Service forecasts occasional heavy snowfall with widespread snow, winds of 25 to 30 miles per hour, and gusts of up to 45 miles per hour. The chance of rain is 80% to 90%.
After closing city hall Wednesday morning, the city of Prescott reopened at noon with reduced services.
The city has posted updates on its Facebook page about regular storms and snow removal from the roads, and Wednesday night’s post said all roads in the city were clear, fully passable, and road maintenance was underway. Officials will continue to monitor road and weather conditions until the evening, and will be on standby until 10pm.
By 6 a.m. Thursday, the crew is expected to be back in full operation “ready for the next storm.” “Like any winter storm event, keep travel to a minimum and use extreme caution while traveling.”
Strong winds in Yavapai County hit 88 mph at Sunset Point late Tuesday and early Wednesday, according to information compiled by the National Weather Service and posted on the city’s website. 64 mph at Prescott Airport. 55 mph in Iron Springs. 48 mph in Prescott Valley.
Follow Cindy Barks on Twitter @Cindy_Barks. Please contact her at extension 928-445-3333. 2034, or cbarks@prescottaz.com.
