Wednesday morning, Alpine and Van Horn experienced rolling blackouts of limited duration. Fort Davis public school students were sent home at noon Wednesday. All public schools in the Tri-County are not scheduled to open until Thursday at 10 AM.
Presidio County Judge Hunt reported that rolling power blackouts affecting other parts of Texas are unlikely to affect Presidio County Wednesday, although emergency shelters may be set up in Marfa in case power goes down.
Hunt said the most critical period for electrical demand occurs in the morning when residents arise and schools open and begin classes. That period did not overload the local power grid Wednesday morning, although outages are possible Thursday morning.
Vickie Fowler of Jeff Davis County EMS said the fire station in Fort Davis will be opened as a shelter of outages occur there. She said residents who need help should call the Presidio County dispatch number (yes) at 432-729-4308.
The extreme cold is expected to affect the Far West Texas through Friday, with even colder overnight temperatures in some areas Thursday morning. A chance of snow remains in the forecast for higher elevations through Thursday.