Strong winds and a red flag warning prompted NV Energy to de-energize power lines for about 700 customers.
Power has been shut off for parts of the Genoa area and the Virginia City Highlands.
Turning off power to prevent fire risks is what NV Energy calls Public Safety Outage Management or PSOM.
Leaving power lines on during heavy wind conditions can pose a great danger of starting a fire.
If a tree were to blow into a line or if a line were to be knocked over, that could create a spark, and thus, start a fire.Â
With how heavy winds were Wednesday, if a fire were to start, that wind could make the fire take explode.
One Storey County Commissioner says with these outages, people should always be ready to roll with the punches.
"I would suggest anyone that lives up here, prepare for days like this," said Jay Carmona, Storey County Commissioner and Virginia City Highlands resident. "Especially with winter coming. You'll want a generator if at all possible or set up a place in town that you've got some friends you can stay with because life is bit harsh up here."
Carmona says he understands why NV Energy had to cut the power, especially in this area.
"They don't want to start any wildfires and that's always a concern with us we have a lot of trees up here," Carmona said.
Carmona says he believes the residents are prepared, especially since weather like this comes with the territory.
"We're as prepared as we can be," Carmona said. "You know mainly most folks up here are self-sufficient. NV Energy as a program or some folks that need oxygen are able to go down to facility in Reno and like I said our fire department down here is going to set up a warming center for folks who need heat," he said.
That warming center in Storey County is located at Station 72 off of Cartwright Road.
Winds are strong across most of our region today, but there is a reason why NV Energy only shut off power in these areas.
"Fuels in those areas are really receptive to carry wildfire and those are the type of catastrophic wildfires we're trying to prevent when we enact a PSOM," said Paul Fremeau, Meteorologist, NV Energy.
NV Energy tells us folks should expect to have to wait until Thursday morning to get their phones back.
"We expect the winds until about 7 p.m. which puts us after sunset and we really do need light to be able to do the patrols and inspect the lines," Fremeau said. "We are looking at re-energization for tomorrow morning for those areas."
Neighbors in Genoa area can head to the Douglas County Community and Senior Center to warm up.
That's off Waterloo Lane, and is open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
NV Energy recommend people in these areas to stock up on food and get a generator if you can because they may have to issue another one if there is a great fire risk.
