100,000 across Colorado lose power due to wind, planned Xcel shut-offs that could take several days to restore

Nearly 100,000 Coloradans had no electricity Friday morning as utilities took more precautions with plans to deliberately shut off power to 69,000 households and businesses as weather forecasters anticipated wind gusts at speeds up to 100 miles per hour in the foothills west of metro Denver.

At 8:20 a.m., Xcel’s outage map showed 89,271 customers without power. The CORE electric cooperative’s map early Friday showed 8,693 customers without power.

Restoring power could take “up to several days to complete” as crews have to “inspect power lines and repair damage before they can be safely re-energized,” Xcel said in a statement.

The National Weather Service issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation red flag warning” for Friday due to exceptionally high winds and low relative humidity, around 8 to 20% — prime conditions for the quick spread of fire. “Extremely critical fire weather conditions” are expected to persist through Saturday morning, with temperatures approaching record highs for this time of year, weather forecasters said.

Before sunrise on Friday, Xcel Energy implemented another round of planned “public safety power shutoffs” that the utility anticipated would affect 69,000 customers in Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld counties, company officials said Thursday. High winds will likely also cause unplanned outages, Xcel officials said.

The weather and fire risk conditions on Friday “will match or exceed Wednesday’s conditions, which included wind gusts over 100 miles per hour,” Xcel’s statement said.

Housholds in areas where power lines run underground, or where residents don’t see damage, may still be affected by planned outages – and unplanned outages- because the power in their areas connects to a larger grid.

Xcel crews were working with the American Red Cross and local emergency managers to open resource centers for people without power due to severe winds on Friday, providing phone charging and emergency supplies.

Emergency resource centers for Coloradans who lose power

• Evergreen Fire Station – 1802 Bergen Pkwy, Evergreen, CO 80439 (Open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.)
• Gilpin County School – 10595 Highway 119, Black Hawk, CO 80422 (Open until further notice)
• Wellspring Catholic Academy – 1100 Upham St., Lakewood (Open from 3 p.m. until further notice)
• Health and Wellness Center – 1969 Miner St., Idaho Springs (Open Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m)

Xcel employees with red trucks planned to be at these centers providing support and information, company officials said.

For the households hit with planned outages on Wednesday, more than 90% had their power restored, utility officials said. “No one has been out for three days,” Xcel spokeswoman Michelle Aguayo said.

Utility crews around metro Denver were working to repair damage and restore power.