Powerful, damaging winds and the threat of fire danger may cause thousands to lose power across southern Colorado on Tuesday.

Black Hills Energy has announced a Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff Watch for several counties across the state’s southern half, excluding El Paso County, according to a Monday night news release. The watch areas include about 8,200 customers.

According to the Black Hills Energy outage map, 83 customers in Pueblo have already lost power as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Almost a dozen more customers are expected to lose power in Cañon City.

“Customers in the PSPS watch areas are urged to prepare for the possibility of extended emergency power outages needed to protect public safety and prevent wildfire,” officials said in the release. “If conditions persist, we may need to temporarily shut off power.”

The following counties are under watch: Crowley County, Fremont County, Otero County and Pueblo County. Cripple Creek, Victor and Westcliffe are also under watch.

The National Weather Service’s office in Pueblo has issued a Red Flag Warning for the Interstate 25 corridor and the Eastern Plains. The warning is expected to last until 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Wind gusts of over 65 mph are possible.

“Very dangerous fire weather conditions will exist across the region today due to low humidity values (10-15%) and very strong winds,” the Weather Service reported on its X page.

The winds could blow down trees and power lines, Weather Service forecasters wrote in a High Wind Warning release.