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APS outlines expanded fire-mitigation tools and possible public-safety power shutoffs
Summary
APS representatives described vegetation management, pole protection, AI cameras, weather stations and public-safety power shutoff (PSPS) planning, and told Prescott City Council the average PSPS duration would likely be about 20 hours when used.
APS told the Prescott City Council on Tuesday it is expanding fire-mitigation work across northern Arizona, including vegetation management, grid hardening, insulating wraps for wood poles, infrared and drone inspections, and AI-equipped cameras to speed detection of smoke and heat.
“Fire season is year round,” Frank Sanderson, APS Northern Division director, told the council as he described the utility’s programs to reduce ignition risk and identify fires early. Sanderson said APS now clears defensible space around pole-mounted devices and has increased the frequency of those treatments.
Sanderson described an array of monitoring tools the utility is deploying: AI cameras that can spot smoke, weather stations to improve localized modeling, infrared scans and drones, and new fault indicators that help crews find trouble locations quickly. He said cameras spotted a February fire south of Mayer that helped with early response.
APS officials also discussed the utility’s use of a “non-recloser” strategy during high fire risk, meaning automated devices that normally reclose after a transient fault are held open so lines are inspected before being re-energized. Sanderson said the company has deployed thousands of small fault indicators to guide patrols and reduce outage durations.
On the prospect of public-safety power shutoffs — a tool of last resort in which circuits are de-energized to prevent utilities from igniting fires — Sanderson said the company would notify county and municipal partners first and then customers in affected areas. He estimated a typical PSPS event could average about 20 hours, though acknowledged durations depend on evolving weather and conditions.
Sanderson said Prescott-area circuits that could be part of PSPS planning include Iron Springs, Senator Highway, White Spar and Delano. He also urged residents who rely on electrically powered medical devices to register as medically-monitored customers on APS’s website so crews can prioritize restoration.
Council members asked about prior use and duration; Sanderson said APS had not yet had to shut off circuits under its formal PSPS program in the region but that modeling shows a potential for 0–1 such events per year under trigger thresholds. He emphasized coordination with Yavapai County emergency management and municipal leaders and described plans for extensive morning patrols, including helicopters and ground crews, during any PSPS event.
The council took no action; the presentation was informational, and staff collected one written public comment and one resident question during a short public-comment period.
