Xcel working to restore power after outages caused by winds, safety measures

Power outages caused by strong winds and precautionary actions were still impacting around 2,100 customers Monday morning in the Amarillo area and Texas Panhandle.

As of early Monday, 573 customers were impacted in the Lefors, McLean and Pampa area with crews working to restore power, 11 outages were near the Fritch / Stinnett / Borger area, affecting about 1,120 customers, and give outages in the Amarillo area were impacting about 430 people, according to the Xcel Energy outage map.

A majority of customers without power were affected "by a proactive de-energization of power lines. That step – a last resort, taken only under the most extreme circumstances – was focused on a limited area where wildfire danger has been the highest," Xcel Energy said in a news release Sunday night.

According to the West Texas Mesonet, wind gusts were recorded as high as 77 mph in Sundown, with 67 mph gusts in areas including Levelland, McLean and Clarendon and several areas across the region seeing winds in the 50 to 60 mph range Sunday. The National Weather Service in Amarillo reported that crews would be conducting a tornado survey Monday for Sunday's severe storms, including in the area near Perryton in Ochiltree County and possible survey of damage around Shamrock if time allows. Ochiltree General Hospital posted on Facebook after it was hit by a tornado Sunday that the ER and clinic were unaffected, and all patients and staff were safe and accounted for.

"Some hail in parts of town! Wind or tornado damage to 2 barns south of town!" Perryton Fire EMS said in a Facebook post. "The back side of our hospital (Ochiltree General Hospital) took a hit, ripped off part of the roof and slammed it into other parts of building, and outbuildings! None of the patients or staff were injured!"

The weather changed to a winter advisory Monday, with near blizzard conditions possible for the northwestern Panhandle and snow accumulations in the mix, the National Weather Service in Amarillo said.

City emergency management officials were working to help with individuals impacted by the weekend outages. The City of Borger / Hutchinson County OEM said on Facebook, "For oxygen/dialysis or any other dependent residents, please note that Celebration Family Church in Fritch has electricity and has graciously offered to assist those that are in need. If you live in Stinnett, give Stinnett EMS or Stinnett Fire Department a call and they’ll make sure your needs are met as well."

There were no new reported wildfires in the Texas Panhandle region after Sunday's blustery weather, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service incident map.

“A limited number of lines impacting less than one percent of our customers across our service territory were identified for de-energization because of the surrounding terrain and its risk of fire ignition, and the potential for damage to the lines from high winds. It is a step we take to protect the safety of our communities, customers and work crews,” said Adrian J. Rodriguez, president of Xcel Energy – New Mexico, Texas.

Additional outages were caused by wind-related faults, including outages on lines where automatic power restoration features were temporarily turned off because of wildfire danger, the company said.

"Typically, when there is an issue that causes a power outage on a line, such as a tree branch contacting a power line, equipment on the system will attempt to restore power automatically, usually within a few seconds. Xcel Energy has temporarily changed the settings on those systems in many areas to prevent the automatic restoration of power, which could potentially cause the line to spark. Instead, crews are patrolling the area to ensure it is safe to restore service. This safety measure means power outages are likely to last longer," the release noted.

As previously reported, investigators determined the recent devastating wildfires in the Texas Panhandle were likely caused by power lines, with the largest one on state record scorching more than a million acres. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against utility companies by people who lost loved ones, homes and more as a result of the Smokehouse Creek Fire.

As critical fire danger returned to the area over the weekend, Xcel Energy warned Saturday night of possible extended outages and proactive power shut-offs. The company said it would be "operating the electric system in some areas of Texas and New Mexico in a manner intended to enhance public safety and decrease the risk of wildfire. With the high winds associated with this weather event, damage to electrical equipment and power outages may occur. Outages may be more frequent and last longer than they typically would." Communities potentially impacted included Roswell, Carlsbad and Monument in New Mexico, and Stinnett, Sanford, Fritch, Lefors, and the Northwest Amarillo Bishop Hills community.

The city of Fritch posted Sunday about a potential water service interruption due to an outage, but two of three generators were in place to supply two wells, and water pressure continued to hold as normal, not requiring a boil water notice.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Xcel shuts off power in safety measure due to heavy winds, fire danger