Red Flag Warnings & Power Outages

At Poudre Valley REA, safety is the cornerstone of everything we do for our members, employees, and the communities we serve.

Operating an electric system in wildfire-prone terrain requires a thoughtful balance between reliability and safety. During periods of elevated wildfire risk, that balance becomes even more critical.

Continue reading to understand how times of elevated wildfire risk impact your power, how we operate under enhanced power safety settings, power outage expectations, and how PVREA balances wildfire prevention with safe, reliable electric service.

What Is Elevated Wildfire Risk

Elevated wildfire risk conditions are often identified as a Red Flag Warning issued by the National Weather Service.

They represent conditions like strong winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation that create a higher chance for wildfires to start and spread quickly.

Why Your Power May Be Impacted

When a Red Flag Warning is issued or during other times of elevated wildfire risk, we take extra precautions to minimize risk by setting our electric system to a higher sensitivity setting.

Enhance Power Safety Settings are designed not to automatically restore power after a fault on a powerline is detected. Under these heightened sensitivity settings, power is turned off and kept off until crews manually inspect the line.

This approach helps reduce risk but may lead to more frequent, longer-lasting power outages. These steps are taken to protect people, property, and natural resources.

Enhanced Power Safety Settings

Our system becomes more sensitive during periods of elevated wildfire risk.

When these conditions occur:

• We increase sensitivity settings on our system.
• Power shuts off after a fault is detected.
• Electric service is restored only after manual inspection.

These efforts reduce risk, but member-owners may experience more frequent, longer-lasting power interruptions.

How to Stay Updated

Outage Center – your one-stop-shop for outage restoration information, storm preparedness, and electrical safety information.

• Click here to visit the online Outage Center.

Outage Alerts – members must opt-in for automated outage notifications by text and email alerts.

• Click here to sign up for Outage Alerts.

Social Media – we share more detailed outage restoration updates as we hear from crews in the field.

• Follow ‘PVREA’ on Facebook or X/Twitter.