UPDATE: Black Hills Energy Cancels Public Safety Power Shutoff Warning

UPDATE: 3 p.m.: Black Hills Energy has cancelled the Public Safety Power Shutoff Warning that was issued earlier today.

“The combination of high wind speeds and low relative humidity can lead to conditions which make it unsafe to operate the electric grid,” said Wes Ashton, vice president of South Dakota and Wyoming Utilities. “It was this combination of factors that prompted today’s warning of an Emergency PSPS. While conditions have improved and the PSPS warning has now been cancelled, we will continue to monitor conditions with safety in mind. We appreciate our customers’ patience as we worked to help keep our customers and communities safe.”

Original Article: Black Hills Energy has issued a Public Safety Power Shutoff Warning for customers in the Harriman and Curt Gowdy areas west of Cheyenne for today [Feb. 24, 2026].

Customers In Curt Gowdy, Harriman Areas Should Be Ready For Outages

The company issued a news release which includes the following: "Extreme fire weather conditions are forecasted to be in place today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Harriman and Curt Gowdy areas west of Cheyenne. This elevated wildfire risk has prompted Black Hills Energy to issue an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff Warning. This means that power could be proactively turned off for customers in these areas starting today unless conditions change, to protect public safety and prevent wildfire."

If power is shutoff, it would affect about 350 customers in the Curt Gowdy and Harriman areas. You can access a company map showing current outages here.

“The safety of our customers, employees and communities is our highest priority,” said Wes Ashton, vice president of South Dakota and Wyoming Utilities. “We are activating the Public Safety Power Shutoff as a last resort emergency measure to prevent our electrical equipment from becoming a source of ignition during these hazardous conditions.”

Weather conditions that give rise to the fire concerns are expected to last through 6 p.m. today. But the warning could be extended beyond 6 p.m. or canceled early, as conditions dictate.

High Winds Could Cause Other Outages

The company is also reminding customers who live outside of the warning area that strong winds could cause additional power outages. The Cheyenne Office of the National Weather Service says wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour are possible in the Cheyenne area today, and even higher gusts are possible in some areas.

Because crews will need to inspect the lines to make sure they can safely be re-energized, outages could last longer than usual.