On July 4 this year, we responded to an electric outage in a neighborhood in the southwest part of Colorado Springs near Cheyenne Canyon, Skyway and the Broadmoor. About 740 customers lost power around 10 p.m. and our electric troubleshooter quickly reported to the site to investigate. He inspected the impacted transformer, circuit and line, and could not find any issues. However, he did notice signs of spent fireworks on the ground around the equipment, as well as active illegal firework usage in the area. In the absence of any other technical issues, we strongly suspect home fireworks were the cause of the outage. While we made fast repairs and customers were restored within about two hours, we know it’s no fun to be without power on a holiday.
What do we suggest? Skip the illegal fireworks next year and attend one of the many awesome, licensed shows provided around our community. The Colorado Springs Switchbacks, Garden of the Gods Club, and Cheyenne Mountain Resort all hosted shows visible from many locations in the city. (Plus, home fireworks create significant risk of wildfire and injury).
We care about your safety. Follow these tips to stay safe around our equipment and avoid outages all year long:
- Always look up! Don’t fly kites or balloons near power lines. Don’t let ladders get closer than 10 feet to any overhead line.
- Stay away from utility boxes – they house energized equipment. These are often painted green or silver.
- Keep utility boxes clear of landscaping so our technicians can access them. This also reduces fire hazards.
- Never touch a downed line or anything in contact with the line (like tree limbs).
- Contact 811 before you start a digging project in your yard.
- Find more safety tips on csu.org.
Next Independence Day, we hope you skip the illegal fireworks, catch an awesome show and return home to good food, family, fun and all the lights on.
