NPR News and Music Discovery for the Four Corners

Powerful windstorm causes widespread power outages across Navajo Nation

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio

Fallen power line on Navajo Nation following Tuesday nights wind storm.
avajo Tribal Utility Authority

60-mile-per hour winds blew through the Navajo Nation Tuesday, leaving thousands without electricity.

Some schools moved to remote classes, but school superintendent Daniel Benavides in Shiprock, New Mexico says some students in his district can't access classes because they don’t have power at home.

"This is very unusual. Very unusual. We're asking parents to call their school sites to make sure that they let the school site know that they're having trouble with electricity because obviously if they don't have power, they can't get the internet," says Benavides.

The Navajo Tribal Utility Company is working on repairs, but had no estimate for when power would be restored.

UPDATE: As of Wednesday (12/14) night, some people are still left without power.

- - -

This report was produced for the Rocky Mountain Community Radio Coalition, of which KSUT is a member. RMCR includes more than 15 member stations across Colorado and parts of Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Lucas Brady Woods
Related Stories
  1. The USDA issues a federal order to fight the spread of a deadly strain of bird flu
  2. With a $135 million EPA grant, a 14-tribe coalition hopes to ‘jump start’ an Indigenous solar economy
  3. A new interactive map can help the public track national conservation efforts
  4. Utah’s giant golden spike wants to celebrate the transcontinental railroad’s unsung workers