More than 15,000 Xcel Energy customers across the Front Range remained without power Friday afternoon, due to high winds in the Fort Collins, Loveland, LaPorte, Timnath and Windsor areas. Of those, 9,000 were planned shut-offs by Xcel earlier in the day. The others were caused by wind damage.
The company says crews are working to get power back online as soon as possible.
Thousands more who lost power supplied by the Poudre Valley electric cooperative had their power restored late Thursday.
“Most of our customers were de-energized here by 9 a.m. this morning,” Andrew Holder, a spokesperson for the utility, told CPR News.
The outages are part of the utility’s public safety power shutdown program, launched in 2024 to reduce the risk of downed power lines sparking wildfires during periods of extreme fire danger.
The shutoff comes as weather conditions remain hazardous across the Front Range. The National Weather Service has issued high wind warnings into Friday afternoon, with northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph and gusts up to around 65 mph expected across Northern Colorado. The strong winds, paired with low humidity have increased fire danger across the northern part of the state
Earlier Friday morning, Xcel also reported at least six downed power lines in Boulder County — temporarily cutting electricity to about 1,500 customers. The utility said crews were able to quickly repair the damage and restore power to nearly all affected residents.
The energy provider says it plans to restore power to all affected customers after 4 p.m. today, when wind conditions improve and crews can safely inspect the lines — a process that could take several hours.
