Goal Zero recalled about 46,200 YETI 3000X portable power stations on Thursday because the circuit board can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards. The company has received four reports of units catching fire, overheating, and smoking. No injuries have been reported. [1]

The machines are not fringe gear. The 92-pound silver-and-black stations ride on wheeled carts with telescoping handles, and they sold at REI, Costco.com, Backcountry.com, and Goalzero.com from May 2020 through August 2025 for about $3,000, the kind of purchase families make to keep insulin cold during an outage or power a campsite. They were made in China by Goal Zero of Draper, Utah. [1]

The remedy is unusual for a fire hazard: a firmware update. Owners should stop using the stations immediately, then install version 1.9.5 through the Goal Zero app or ask the company to install it free. The display shows "upd" while the patch loads. No return to the store is required. [2] Consumer safety has met the software era; the recall notice reads like a phone changelog.

Four fires among 46,200 units is a small number until one of them is in your garage. Federal regulators logged this recall the same day they flagged brake calipers, ventilation fans, and carbon monoxide detectors. [3] Check the nameplate under the lid. Then update before the next outage, not after.

-- NORA WHITFIELD, Chicago