Latest news with #RockyMountainPower
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
18 buildings destroyed as southern Utah blaze continues to burn amid windy conditions
PINE VALLEY, Washington County — A wildfire in southern Utah is continuing to spread, destroying more homes in its wake. The total of homes grew from 12 to 14 overnight Saturday, plus four other structures were destroyed. The blaze, dubbed the Forsyth Fire, started outside the Pine Valley community in Washington County Thursday night but has quickly grown to about 1,640 acres, according to Utah Fire Info. It remains 0% contained as of Saturday at 9 a.m., and the cause of the fire is 'natural,' Utah Fire Info said. 'I spent a good portion of the day in Pine Valley. I saw hundreds of first responders keeping the town safe. Unfortunately, the winds changed quickly,' Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby said. At least 150 firefighters have been dispatched to fight the blaze. Another round of gusty southwest winds is expected across some of southern Utah on Saturday, with gusts upward of 50 mph expected, the National Weather Service said. Combined with low humidity, critical fire weather conditions will continue throughout Saturday in the area. 'The firefighters were shocked. They had busted their butts for two days with, maybe two hours of sleep to protect the community. They lost structures. That is the worst of the worst in their world. I could see it in their eyes. They gave it all they had, and still lost to mother nature,' the sheriff said. Saturday morning, Rocky Mountain Power announced a public safety power shutoff is now in place for central and southern Utah due to wildfire danger. 'Community safety and reducing wildfire risk are our top priorities,' said Pete Singh, Rocky Mountain Power's incident commander. 'We take the decision to turn off power very seriously. Public safety power shutoffs will be targeted, precise and guided by real-time data from conditions on the ground.' About 400 to 500 people were evacuated from Pine Valley in the last two days, as well as the Pine Valley Campground, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Jenny Plecki said in an earlier update. She estimated that 450 homes were evacuated, half of which were occupied by full-time residents. The evacuation was ordered as flames started moving downslope toward the community, Chad Walker, incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service, told KSL-TV. Kelly Cannon, one of the residents forced to evacuate, said she saw the fire get very close to homes on her way out. 'I think the scariest thing was not knowing ... if it was going to come down on our street,' she said. 'We didn't know how far the fire had spread, but we could definitely see — I think the flames were like 3 feet high.'
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
450 homes near Pine Valley remain evacuated due to fire; more power shutoffs possible
PINE VALLEY, Washington County — Hundreds of people remain evacuated near Pine Valley as the Forsyth Fire continues to grow, fueled by strong winds and other 'critical' fire weather conditions. About 400 to 500 people were evacuated from Pine Valley, as well as the Pine Valley Campground, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Jenny Plecki said in an update Friday. She estimated that 450 homes were evacuated, half of which were occupied by full-time residents. One hundred firefighters remained at the scene Friday to battle the fire, which had grown to about 1,000 acres in size, Plecki added. She said more personnel are expected to arrive soon. It's still unclear what sparked the fire. State officials reported earlier Friday that no structures had been destroyed since the fire began. The update comes as heat, wind and low relative humidity remain in the forecast Friday, prompting the National Weather Service to list most of the state in a red flag warning. 'Critical' fire weather conditions may remain across most of the state through Saturday evening. The agency also issued a wind advisory for parts of western Utah, where gusts of up to 45-55 mph were forecasted for Friday ahead of a cold front that is forecast to lower temperatures this weekend. Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain Power, Utah's largest power provider, says it is monitoring the conditions and may temporarily cut power in parts of central and southern Utah until fire weather conditions improve. While the fast-growing Forsyth Fire began Thursday evening, a large fire burning near Bryce Canyon National Park also grew as wind and other factors 'significantly' increased fire activity in the area. The France Canyon Fire, Utah's largest wildfire so far this season, has now scorched 9,575 acres, doubling in size over the last few days, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph fanned flames and forced firefighters to take a 'tactical pause,' the agency reported on Friday. Red flag conditions forecast for Friday and Saturday could pose additional problems. Over 500 personnel are assigned to battle against the wildfire, which remains 5% contained, but a complex incident management team has now been called in to bring more resources. The lightning-caused fire was first reported within Dixie National Forest on June 11. All Forest Service land south of state Route 12 within the Powell Ranger District remains closed. State and federal firefighters reported at least 10 new wildfire starts on Thursday; most were contained quickly. With strong wind gusts in the forecast through Saturday, Rocky Mountain Power says it may shut off power in some areas to prevent sparking new wildfires. It issued a 'Public Safety Power Shutoff Watch' for parts of southern and central Utah, extending up toward the southern end of the Wasatch Front. Communities like Dixie, Enterprise Valley, Cedar City, Milford, Panguitch, Richfield and Santaquin are mentioned in the advisory. Rocky Mountain Power officials say the outages are most likely to take place in those areas between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday. 'Community safety and reducing wildfire risk are our top priorities,' said Pete Singh, the company's incident commander, in a statement. 'We take the decision to turn off power very seriously. Public Safety Power Shutoffs will be targeted, precise and guided by real-time data from conditions on the ground.' While the U.S. Drought Monitor no longer lists any part of Utah in extreme drought for the first time in months, all parts of the state are now listed as 'abnormally dry' or in some level of drought, highlighting the potential fire danger.
Axios
19-06-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Summer nights in Salt Lake City are getting warmer
You're not imagining it: Your summer evening porch hangs are getting hotter. Why it matters: Higher overnight temperatures can have health consequences for vulnerable groups and boost air conditioning use. That, in turn, can strain electrical grids and increase energy demand, fueling a vicious cycle with more greenhouse gas emissions. Driving the news: Salt Lake City is among the U.S. locations that have seen the largest increases in summer nighttime temperatures between 1970 and 2024, according to a new report from Climate Central. By the numbers: 96% of 241 locations analyzed in the report saw a rise in evening temperatures, by 3.1 degrees on average. Salt Lake City's temperatures on average rose by 8.2 degrees. The latest: Rocky Mountain Power issued an advisory Wednesday, urging customers to conserve energy ahead of triple-digit temperatures hitting the valley, particularly during high-demand hours from 3 to 8pm. Zoom out: The higher temperatures in the evening are happening across much of the U.S. — especially in Nevada and other parts of the Southwest. Reno, Nevada (17.7 degrees), Las Vegas (10) and El Paso, Texas (8.9) saw the biggest increases. Between the lines: Hundreds of U.S. cities are experiencing more frequent warmer-than-average summer nights "with a strong climate change fingerprint," Climate Central says. That's based on the group's Climate Shift Index — a method of measuring climate change's impact on local daily temperatures — and the 1991-2020 climate normals.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
More than 5,500 customers without power in Salt Lake Valley
This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post with more information as it becomes available. SALT LAKE CITY () — A power outage affected 5,535 customers in Holladay, Millcreek, Salt Lake City, and South Salt Lake. The first outage was reported around 6:33 p.m. Monday. Rocky Mountain Power sent crews to restore power to the affected areas, but says power isn't expected to be restored until nearly 2:00 a.m. Tuesday. According to their , the cause of the outage is a substation problem. Weight stigma has largest impact on mental health after weight loss surgery, study finds More than 5,500 customers without power in Salt Lake Valley Police warning about Utah toll scam texts — How not to get scammed Reporter hit by rubber bullet during live report from Los Angeles immigration protests Missing 15-year-old from Logan found safe Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
For this Salt Lake City building, energy efficiency, decarbonization are essential to function
Kevin Emerson, director of building efficiency and decarbonization for Utah Clean Energy, gives a tour of the organization's Climate Innovation Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 30, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) When they're out of the office, the Utah Clean Energy staff is often found in energy hearings, discussing policy with Utah leaders and advocating for more sustainable solutions to power the state. At their headquarters, on a small scale, they show how it's done. With the Climate Innovation Center, inaugurated in Salt Lake City last summer, the nonprofit not only searched for a facility that reflected its decarbonization efforts, but one that would create 'a teaching tool and living laboratory,' inviting Utahns to watch the workings of a real-life, ultra-efficient, zero-emissions building. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX After receiving many industry professionals to showcase the two-story building, with its extensive solar panels and a room with a battery to make intermittent energy available day and night, the organization opened its doors for the first time to the public for an open house on Friday. 'The building is meant to be a model of how we can eliminate emissions from operating the building,' Kevin Emerson, director of building efficiency and decarbonization at Utah Clean Energy said on Friday. 'So there's zero emissions that come from running the building. It's all electric and all solar powered.' Not only does the center produce enough energy to power its operations and even electric vehicles in its parking lot with about 39 kilowatts of solar capacity, but it has the ability to help utilities optimize their operations with a 90 kilowatt hours capacity battery. That battery, sitting in a small room alongside a heat pump water heater, is part of Rocky Mountain Power's Wattsmart batteries program, which pays users to incorporate their energy storage into the utility's smart power grid. 'We think it's important for our building to be kind of a flexible, interactive, kind of extension of the grid,' Emerson said. 'And because ultimately, we want that to be a standard practice, where batteries are located across the electric grid to incorporate more effectively all the renewable energy that you will keep adding.' Additionally, there's no gas combustion in the premises. All water features use conservation systems and even the washer and dryer machine installed in the janitor's closet uses a heat pump. Outside, the small garden in the facade is highly drought tolerant, full of native and pollinator-friendly plants, as well. Buildings play a big role in carbon emissions, Emerson told the group of climate and technology enthusiasts who showed up for the tour. According to the environmental nonprofit Architecture 2030, about 40% of carbon emissions come from built environments, either from its operations, or the pollution brought by construction activity itself, including mining, extraction, transportation and manufacturing materials. That's why, Emerson said, during the construction process, the team meticulously chose materials with smaller carbon footprints — from the carpets to the countertops and tiles. Embarking in this project saved emissions by opting to preserve many of the features of the building that sat in the lot prior to the nonprofit's arrival — and also, the staff repurposed wood pieces from the organization's previous headquarters for this building. A lot of the center's energy efficiency comes from its insulation, as well, with contractors paying special attention to a correct airtight construction, Emerson said. Another team also supervised the space's variable refrigerant flow heat pump, essentially a mechanical system that works like a large air conditioning unit that can provide cooling when it's warm, and work in reverse to extract warmth out of the air, even on cold winter days. The organization's next step is to document all of these features by pursuing third-party certifications for the building, including a zero energy validation, focusing on the emissions it is not producing, and a zero carbon one to certify the materials used in retrofitting the space. All of those lessons learned while designing and executing the building were included into a website, so others can incorporate non-polluting practices in new constructions or renovations. 'One of the goals that Utah Clean Energy has is to help all the folks involved in construction across the state realize that building zero emissions as a standard practice is possible,' Emerson added. 'And that's our vision, is that zero emission buildings become a standard practice here in Utah that supports energy affordability.' Hopefully, he said, more buildings become a big part of solutions for climate and better air quality days in Utah. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
