APS outlines wildfire mitigation, public-safety power shutoff procedures for Sedona

Arizona Public Service (APS) representatives told the Sedona City Council on a wildfire-preparedness briefing that the utility is expanding and refining measures intended to reduce wildfire risk across its northern Arizona service territory, including several circuits that run through Sedona.

Frank, an Arizona Public Service wildfire mitigation official, said APS operates about 1,500 circuits in Arizona and has identified 237 feeders as within high fire-risk areas, with about 95 of those located in northern Arizona. "We have a very comprehensive fire mitigation plan, that includes a lot of different things," Frank said, describing vegetation management, a hazard-tree program, pole hardening and new protective devices.

The presentation listed specific technical measures APS is deploying: a program APS calls DSAP (defensible space around poles) that clears and treats roughly 10 feet around equipment such as transformers and switches; replacement of conventional fuses with "non‑expulsion" fuses designed to reduce sparking; application of a heat‑dissipating mesh wrap on wood poles; expanded patrols including helicopters and infrared‑equipped drones; and additional grid‑hardening devices and fault indicators to shorten outage‑response times.

Why it matters: Councilors pressed APS on how those measures intersect with the risk of fast-moving, wind‑driven fires and on what residents should expect if APS implements a public…