Strong winds persisted Thursday morning along the Front Range and Eastern Plains, keeping more than 90,000 Xcel Energy customers in the dark through a combination of precautionary outages and wind damage.
A series of overnight fires in Yuma County in far eastern Colorado led to evacuations, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage to housing or businesses or injuries.
The National Weather Service maintained a high wind warning for much of the Front Range and plains, with forecast wind gusts up to 80 mph expected to continue until at least 11 a.m.
At 7:30 a.m., Denver International Airport listed 49 flight delays, but just nine cancellations.
The high winds continued to play havoc with school schedules as the holiday break approached. Boulder Valley School District cancelled all classes Thursday and districts in Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties also canceled classes for the day. Some Jeffco schools were also to remain closed due to the wind, loss of power or both.
Thursday’s precautions followed a wild day of windy weather Wednesday that saw multiple cancellations, downed power lines and precautionary shutdowns.
Martha Lunsky, who runs the front desk at the Chautauqua Lodges in Boulder, said they lost power around 11 a.m. Wednesday, and the winds got significantly worse after that. She said she heard reports of several downed trees nearby, blocking some roads.
While Chautauqua has a generator for the front desk and some other spaces, individual guest cottages do not. Lunsky said they've been distributing flashlights and extra blankets. She said all the current guests have been understanding.
" We preemptively have talked to everybody, gave them all updates," she said.
In Golden, resident Ron Groothedde lost power during a work Zoom call around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday. So he went to the part of Lakewood that still has power in order to grocery shop.
“Way to try to keep the public safe,” he said. “But the other part of me is like — what are you doing? There are people at home with medical devices and stuff, and you’re turning off their power. Usually, you wait for something to happen. Usually, you’re reactionary.”
Xcel’s public safety shutoff Wednesay and Thursday are part of the company’s updated Wildfire Mitigation Plan, which is meant to reduce the odds that the utility’s equipment will spark a major fire.
As part of the plan, state regulators required Xcel to dramatically improve its coordination with state and local authorities when it decides to cut power, after a much-criticized shutoff occurred in April 2024.
Though winds may subside Thursday afternoon, officials warned that they could be back on Thursday night and Friday, along with more power shutdowns.
