Planned blackouts help prevent wildfires caused by downed power lines and malfunctioning electrical equipment. Here's how to ...

Public safety shutoffs are becoming routine in fire-prone areas. But when the grid goes down, so do digital transactions.

These planned shutdowns are called public safety power shutoffs, abbreviated to PSPS, and they're increasingly common. So far this year, we've seen them in Texas, New Mexico and California.

All of New Mexico will be under a "red flag" warning Thursday, with a fire weather watch in San Miguel and much of Santa Fe counties.

The red-flag fire weather could prompt a public safety power shutoff in parts of New Mexico, including Santa Fe, PNM said.

As the world warms, public safety power shutoffs will occur more frequently. The shutoffs clearly highlight the trade-off between economic and social disruption versus preventing dangerous wildfires.