Apr. 17—Power was shut off to about 2,300 customers in Las Vegas just before noon Thursday.
The Public Service Company of New Mexico announced the shutoff to the northern city to prevent wildfire risks in the largely wooded area while increased winds, low humidity and higher temperatures persist.
The company said it anticipates restoring power as early as 3 a.m. Friday, with weather conditions expected to subside Thursday evening.
PNM added that the power outage could last through Saturday morning, depending on fire conditions and potential system damage caused by high winds.
Other power outages, called public safety power shutoffs, could occur in other parts of the state as well, as utilities deem the precaution necessary in extreme weather conditions.
The National Weather Service forecasts that strong winds and high fire danger will continue through Friday in central New Mexico and other parts of the state.
PNM crews reported gusts upwards of 70 miles per hour in Las Vegas in a Thursday afternoon social media post. The company said it plans to send more than 50 employees to assess equipment and make any necessary repairs to the city’s 20 miles of lines, more than 800 poles and other equipment once it’s safe.
Dozens of power outages plagued central New Mexico metro-area residents Friday afternoon, too, with PNM’s outage map showing issues with power lines and equipment from Belen nearly to Bernalillo. About 5,450 customers were without power Friday at 5 p.m., though PNM anticipated same-day restoration in the metro areas.
PNM did not report outages in its southern service areas Thursday evening. Wind and dust advisories were in place in southern New Mexico for Thursday and Friday as gusts up to 50 miles per hour created brownout conditions in the state’s Bootheel, Mimbres and Mesilla valleys and Tularosa Basin, as well as El Paso, Texas.
On Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a dust storm warning for the south as reduced visibility created dangerous conditions on highways, as the wind carried a plume of dust from the Deming area across Doña Ana and into Otero counties. Interstate 10 was temporarily closed to traffic between Lordsburg and Las Cruces, as were portions of state highways connecting Deming to Columbus, Silver City and Hatch.
PNM has a live outage map online at outagemap.pnm.com/ and will provide updates on its Facebook page.