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Winter storm knocks out power service to thousands in Payson area

Posted at 8:17 PM, Jan 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-22 14:28:37-05

Thousands were without power in central Arizona after a winter storm disrupted service in the Payson and Pine-Strawberry areas.

According to APS, about 4,300 were without service in those areas on Saturday night. Most of the outages were caused by downed power lines or blown fuses, the utility's online outage map reported.

As of Sunday afternoon, APS is reporting most of the outages have been restored and residents have power back on. See the outage map here

In response to the outages Saturday, the American Red Cross opened a warming center in Pine and the Payson High School gym was also being used to accommodate those dealing with a lack of power.

The American Red Cross announced Sunday that the shelters would be closing at 1 p.m. since power has been restored. 

A post on the Payson Police Department's Facebook page said officers were providing rides to and from the shelter if needed. Anyone needing a ride was asked to call dispatch at 928-474-5177 to request a ride.

The state's other main power provider, SRP, reported no significant statewide outages as of 8 p.m.

Navopache Electric, which services portions of northeast Arizona, reported 570 customers were without power on the Fort Apache reservation south of Show Low. There was no estimate provided as to when service would be restored.

Snowfall totals in Arizona's high country measured up to a foot or more at higher elevations as a major storm moved through Friday and early Saturday. Another storm was expected to bring another six or more inches of snowfall to areas above 6,000 feet starting Sunday.

Click here for the latest forecast