LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Six West Metro Fire Rescue stations were left operating in the dark after public safety power shutoffs this week, leaving crews to rely on backup generators and flashlights while remaining on high alert for potential new fire starts amid fierce winds.
The outages were part of Xcel Energy’s decision to preemptively shut off electricity during periods of heightened wildfire risk. Despite the lack of power, firefighters continued responding to emergency calls, including West Metro Fire Station 9, where crews worked shrouded in darkness.
“We’ve been trying to make the best of it,” said Lieutenant Rhett Blackmer. “We have a natural gas generator that kicks in automatically. That’s something we do weekly checks on to make sure it’s in good functioning order. And that kicks in immediately to power all our essential systems.”…