The two-minute version
Call us right now at (435) 682-3866 if:
- Burning smell from a panel, outlet, or switch
- Sparks from any outlet, switch, or fixture
- Buzzing or crackling sound from your panel
- An outlet, switch, or appliance is hot to the touch
- Power loss to part or all of the house with no apparent reason (not a tripped breaker)
- Water touching electrical (flooding around outlets, storm damage near the service entry)
- Storm-damaged service mast or a downed line touching your property
- A breaker that won’t reset OR keeps tripping immediately when you try
- Any electrical situation with visible smoke or fire
Can wait until business hours:
- One outlet that stopped working (and nothing nearby is hot or smelling)
- One light fixture out
- A light switch making a clicking sound (not buzzing or sparking)
- Flickering lights on one circuit
- A GFCI that won’t reset (and nothing nearby is hot)
- Slow charging on an EV charger
- A generator that needs maintenance
The test: Is there ANY risk of fire, shock, or water-related electrocution? Call now. Otherwise, wait.
We’re Fowler Electric (Utah License #12129347-5501). Real 24/7 emergency service across Cedar City, Iron County, Brian Head, Duck Creek, and Southern Utah. Call (435) 682-3866.
What an electrical emergency actually looks like
The word “emergency” is overused. For electrical work, an emergency is a situation where someone or something is about to be hurt or destroyed if you wait. Here’s the honest list.
1. Burning smell
A burning electrical smell is unmistakable: sharp, chemical, like burning plastic. If you smell it from a panel, outlet, switch, light fixture, or any appliance:
- Don’t touch the source.
- Turn off the breaker that controls that area, OR flip the main breaker if you’re not sure.
- Call us at (435) 682-3866.
Why this is a now-call: insulation is melting. Wires are running hot enough to vaporize their plastic coating. The next stage is fire.
2. Sparks from an outlet, switch, or fixture
A small spark when you plug something in (the visible arc as contact is made) is normal. A continuous spark, sparks with smoke, or sparks from a switch or fixture that’s just sitting there is not. Don’t touch. Kill power at the breaker. Call.
3. Buzzing or crackling from your electrical panel
Your panel should be silent. A faint hum from a large appliance compressor is normal. A buzzing, crackling, or sizzling sound from the panel itself is not. This is almost always a loose connection arcing, and arc faults start fires. Call now. If your panel is older, read our guide on panel upgrade warning signs.
4. Outlet, switch, or appliance hot to the touch
Hot means hot: you can’t comfortably keep your hand on it. Warm is normal (electronics generate heat). Hot is electrical resistance generating enough heat to be dangerous. Cut power to that circuit. Call.
5. Loss of power with no obvious cause
Tripped breakers reset. Storm outages affect the neighborhood. But if part of your house has no power AND the breaker isn’t tripped (or won’t stay reset) AND there’s no neighborhood outage, you have an internal fault somewhere. If you can’t isolate which circuit is affected by flipping breakers one at a time, call. The longer a partial fault sits, the worse it gets.
6. Water + electrical
A flooded basement near outlets. A roof leak dripping into a junction box. Sprinklers hitting your service entry. Any time water and live electricity are interacting:
- Cut power at the main breaker if you can do so safely (dry hands, dry floor where you’re standing).
- Don’t touch standing water in the affected area.
- Call (435) 682-3866.
7. Storm damage to your service mast
Cedar City and Iron County storms occasionally take down the service mast: the pipe coming out of your roof or wall that connects to Rocky Mountain Power’s overhead line. If you see your service mast bent, sheared off, or pulled away from the building, it’s an emergency. The risk is the live RMP feed touching something it shouldn’t. Call us AND Rocky Mountain Power.
8. Downed power line on or near your property
This is technically Rocky Mountain Power’s problem (lines outside your meter are RMP property), so call them first (1-877-508-5088) and us second. We can coordinate the safe re-energization once RMP clears the line. Never touch a downed line, even one that looks de-energized. Don’t drive over it. Stay 35 feet back.
9. Breaker that won’t reset OR trips instantly
A breaker that won’t go back to “on” or trips again the moment you reset it is doing its job: protecting you from a fault in the circuit downstream. DO NOT keep resetting it. Each reset attempt arcs the fault and can cause damage. Leave the breaker off and call us.
10. Smoke or fire
Call 911 first. Get out. Then call us once it’s safe.
What can actually wait until morning
These are inconvenient but not dangerous. Save the after-hours fee and call us during business hours.
One outlet stopped working. If a single outlet died and nothing around it is hot, smoking, or smelling, it’s probably just a failed outlet. Reset the GFCI on that circuit if there is one (look for TEST/RESET buttons on outlets in bathrooms, kitchen, exterior, or garage). If that doesn’t fix it, schedule us for the next business day. Typical repair: $125-$250.
A light fixture is out. Bulb out, fixture out, or one switch leg dead. Annoying, not dangerous.
A light switch clicks. Mechanical clicking when you flip it is fine; that’s the switch’s snap mechanism. Buzzing or sparking is different (see the emergency list above).
Flickering lights on one circuit. Usually a loose connection or a bad fixture. Get it diagnosed within a week or so. Don’t ignore it for months, but don’t pay after-hours rates for it.
A GFCI won’t reset. Try unplugging everything on that circuit first. If it still won’t reset, schedule a service call.
An EV charger charging slowly. Schedule a load check during business hours.
A generator needs maintenance. If your Generac is in a fault state but grid power is on, it’s not urgent. If you’ve lost grid power AND the generator won’t start, THEN it’s urgent. Call us.
Why “24/7 emergency service” is often a lie
A lot of Southern Utah electrical contractors advertise 24/7 emergency service. Some of them actually staff it. Others have a voicemail that gets checked at 8am the next day.
Test before you need them: call the contractor’s emergency line at an odd hour (8pm Sunday, 11pm Friday) and see if a human picks up. If it goes to voicemail with “we’ll call you back,” they’re not staffed 24/7.
Fowler Electric is staffed 24/7. A real human answers at (435) 682-3866. Our after-hours response targets:
- Inside Cedar City limits: 60-90 minute arrival
- Outside Cedar City, in Iron County: 90 minutes to 3 hours depending on location
- Brian Head, Duck Creek, cabin country: 60-90 minutes in summer, up to 3 hours in winter conditions
We’re honest about what we can do in winter. Some snowstorms close Highway 14 temporarily and we can’t safely reach Cedar Mountain cabins until the road clears. We’ll tell you that on the phone. We won’t promise an arrival we can’t make.
What to do while you wait for us
If there’s a burning smell, smoke, or sparks: cut power at the main breaker (the big breaker at the top of your panel), get everyone out of the affected area, and don’t try to investigate.
If there’s water near electrical: cut power at the main breaker, don’t touch standing water in affected areas, and don’t plug appliances back in.
If a breaker won’t reset: leave it off, and try to note which devices and appliances are on that circuit so we can troubleshoot faster.
If your service mast is damaged or a line is down: stay 35 feet from any wires touching the ground or your property, call Rocky Mountain Power (1-877-508-5088), then call us.
Cedar City emergency call pricing
Honest pricing for after-hours emergencies in Cedar City in 2026:
- After-hours dispatch fee (nights, weekends, holidays): $200-$400 on top of standard labor
- Standard service call rate: $125-$200/hour for the first hour
- Parts at cost plus markup
- Total typical emergency call: $400-$900 for diagnostic plus minor repair
- Major emergency (service mast replacement, panel fault, fire restoration): can run $2,000-$10,000+
We give a real verbal estimate on the phone before we leave. If it doesn’t sound right to you, say so and we’ll discuss alternatives. We don’t trap people into emergency rates when the situation isn’t actually an emergency. For standard pricing, see our Cedar City electrician costs guide.
When to call (435) 682-3866
If you read this whole article and you’re still not sure, call. We’d rather have you call about something that wasn’t an emergency and walk you through it than miss a real one.
We’re licensed (Utah #12129347-5501), insured, and an authorized Generac dealer. Real 24/7 staffing across Cedar City, Iron County, Brian Head, Duck Creek, and all of Southern Utah within 100 miles of Cedar City. Request service online or call (435) 682-3866.
Written by the Fowler Electric Team. Licensed Utah electrical contractors serving Cedar City and Southern Utah since 2014. Utah License #12129347-5501 (E200 General + E201 Residential Electrical Qualifier). Call (435) 682-3866.