The latest winter storm caused power outages for thousands of people south of Flagstaff in Munds Park.
However, the unincorporated cabin community is no stranger to power outages and all the problems that follow.
Joseph Gutierrez got word Tuesday night that his cabin in Munds Park was among the thousands that didn’t have power.
“My wife tells me, 'you have another honey-do,'” said Gutierrez.
With temperatures in the teens overnight, he knew it was only a matter of time before a small problem could cost him a fortune, so he made the drive up from the Valley Wednesday morning.
“I was worried because if the electricity is not on, you cannot keep the house warm. If you can’t keep the house warm, the pipes will bust,” said Gutierrez.
Heavy snow has power lines sagging throughout the cabin community.
APS says they’ve been working around the clock in rugged terrain to restore power.
Overnight, a warming center opened at the church. ABC15 was told about 10 people stayed at the center, including a resident who is in her 80s.
Pinewood Fire District Chief Josh Tope says power outages in Munds Park aren’t isolated to heavy winter storms.
“So it will be ongoing, it just requires a lot of work and mitigation in clearing those lines in the summer, so this doesn’t happen in the winter,” said Tope.
Chief Tope urges residents to consider cutting down trees near power lines so they don’t sag. He estimates there are anywhere from 100-1,000 trees per acre. He recommends mitigating the trees in the area down to 10-100 trees per acre — partially for winter but mostly to reduce wildfire risk.
“You can look around and see, every one of them is loaded down with snow and weight,” said Obie Swiggum, who’s working as a handyman helping remove snow.
If the trees can’t be cut, at least shaking the snow off helps.
These are jobs Chief Tope knows are easier said than done.
Coconino County crews had to plow the roads in Munds Park so emergency vehicles can get through, but that created another problem: the snow berms along the hilly roads kept some people from getting out of their driveways.
“I had a guy come in here three times and clear this,” said David Kramer.
For those stuck, Chief Tope suggests there’s a Munds Park tradesman group on Facebook.
“It has people who can plow, clear a roof, all kinds of trades,” said Chief Tope.
If needed, residents can call the fire district to help them out.
Chief Tope also urges residents in the area to have their heater vents checked. Snow-covered vents led to a carbon monoxide call this week. A carbon monoxide detector notifies the fire district.
APS provided a full statement including the location for the warming center: APS crews have worked around the clock since the weekend to respond to severe winter weather conditions that have impacted our electrical infrastructure to keep the lights on for our customers in the state's high country. Our crews are working as quickly and safely as possible, accessing rugged terrain in cold temperatures, even by foot, to restore power and repair electrical equipment damaged by strong storm activity. We appreciate our customers' patience and understand the difficulties this may cause while we work through the impacts of this winter storm. We will continue to keep working until we get the power back on for all of our customers.
Residents in the area can visit the warming center located at Munds Park Community Church (17670 S. Munds Park Ranch Rd.) and follow the APS Outage Map for the latest updates on restoration times.
