Six years after the 2003 Aspen Fire on Mount Lemmon that burned 85,000 acres, falling trees are causing power outages and costing business owners revenue.

Rachel Zimmerman, an employee at The Cookie Cabin, said although the power goes out throughout the year, it goes out at least twice a month during the winter, sometimes for as long as 12 hours.

When the power goes out, The Cookie Cabin, a restaurant specializing in pizza and cookies, is forced to shut down because the fan in the cookie oven runs on electricity. The pizza oven also runs on electricity.

When the restaurant has to shut down due to power outages, Zimmerman estimates that the business loses $800 to $1,000 on an average day. But on a snow day it can mean a loss of up to $2,500 in revenues.

Though the power outages affect business, The Cookie Cabin owner Vic Zimmerman said, "I think the power goes out rather infrequently for how rural we are."

When the power does go out and the power provider, TRICO Electric Cooperative, Inc., is not on the mountain, it takes about two hours for a repairman from TRICO to get there and make the power lines safe for the firemen, said Dennis Rankin, fire captain of the Mount Lemmon Fire District.

“Last year, the power probably went out eight times because of (fallen) trees,” Rankin said.

Even the trees that survived the fire are falling. The fire district responds to more live trees that have fallen over than dead ones, Rankin said. Because the fire burned most of the topsoil, live trees’ root beds are unstable, causing them to fall.

“Wind is probably our biggest problem,” Rankin said. “Bigger, green trees are falling because they have a small root bed."

While a TRICO repairman makes the drive up to the mountain from Marana, Ariz., Mt. Lemmon firefighters spend up to an hour locating fallen trees.

“We just drive around and look,” Rankin said.

When the tree is found and TRICO secures the power lines, the firefighters cut the tree up and leave it on the side of the road for locals to use as firewood, Rankin said.

The cost of cutting up a single tree within the district is approximately $350, which includes equipment and personnel, according to Rankin. If the tree is out of the district, on private land or if TRICO needs a tree cut down, it costs about $500 per tree. Rankin said the fire district does contract work with TRICO and just recently cleared two miles of trees, costing TRICO $26,000.

According to Romi Carrell Wittman, communications services director at TRICO, the power company serves approximately 450 residences and businesses on the mountain. Wittman said it takes about 40 miles of power line to power the mountain, 10 of which run from Tucson to Mt. Lemmon and the other 30 run up the mountain.

As far as the cost of repairs, Wittman said TRICO does not have exact figures because it varies for each situation, Wittman said. TRICO covers the cost for all electrical repairs.

Though the power outages are a problem for many people on the mountain, others have adapted.

Carol Mack, also known as “The Fudge Lady,” does not have to worry as much when the power goes out.

“Power goes out all of the time,” said Mack, owner of the Mt. Lemmon General Store and Gift Shop. “That’s why I have a wood burning stove and propane gas tanks.”