Facing increased wildfire risk in the coming months, Xcel Energy has outlined new plans to mitigate power outage risks when possible. 

Blair McGary, Xcel’s area manager for Summit, Eagle, Lake and Grand counties, described public safety power shutoffs as a “final option” used when forecasts show dangerous combinations of high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation — conditions that can quickly spark and spread wildfire. 

“It is a tool of last resort for us,” McGary said. “We are not in the business of turning people’s power on. … We’re in the business of keeping people’s power on, and we’ve been really good at it.” 

In the case of an anticipated power shut-off, customers can typically expect up to 72 hours notice, with earlier alerts issued to critical facilities such as hospitals, schools and water treatment plans. Outages would be targeted in specific areas rather than system-wide. McGary said public safety power shut-off events have occurred more frequently along the Front Range, where wildfire risk is often higher. She said Xcel has worked to improve the timeliness and clarity of its communications with customers. 

More commonly though, McGary said Xcel uses a less disruptive approach using enhanced powerline safety settings, allowing power lines to remain active during high-risk weather while adding automatic shut-off protections if a problem is detected. 

“The lines are energized, but if something faults a line, we know that they’re going to deenergize and we’re not going to get to that point of initiating a public safety power shutoff,” McGary said.

In either case, worker crews have to physically inspect power lines before restoring service, which can sometimes delay power coming back online. 

A windstorm that struck Summit County on Dec. 17, 2025 illustrated that risk, as gusts knocked down 4 poles in the Lake Hill area and Keystone Mountain recorded a peak wind speed of 98 mph.