Last update: 8 a.m. on April 9. Xcel’s wildfire safety outage ended Sunday afternoon, but 600 miles of lines needed inspection before power can be restored, the company said.
byBRL Staff
Updated
This is a developing story. Last update: 8 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9. Key updates:
- As of Monday night, April 8, Xcel had restored electricity to more than 90% of the 155,000 customers who experienced power outages due to the planned wildfire safety measures or the wind storm. Outages expected to extend into Tuesday are mainly in the Kipling, Arvada and Boulder foothills areas, which saw heavy damage from the winds, Xcel said.
- Xcel’s outage map showed about 1,700 in Boulder County without power at 9 p.m. on Monday, April 8, and about 250 on Tuesday morning.
- School was canceled at six schools on April 8 due to ongoing outages. They are Nederland Elementary, Nederland Middle-Senior High School, Gold Hill, Jamestown, Platt Middle School and Coal Creek Elementary School. All had the powered restored by Monday night, except Gold Hill and Jamestown Elementary.
- Foothills Hospital was still using generator power as of Sunday night.
- The county and city reported multiple traffic accidents over the weekend, partly caused by traffic light outages and “reckless behavior” on the part of drivers.
- Spoiled food can be brought in non-glass containers for composting to Western Disposal (2051 63rd Street) starting 7 a.m. on Monday.
- City of Boulder offices and facilities resumed normal operations on April 8.
Xcel Energy, after preemptively disconnecting power for 55,000 customers in Colorado, mainly in Boulder County, to reduce wildfire risk amid the weekend’s extreme winds, is now saying that some residents may not see power restored until Monday or later.
“With more than 150,000 customers without power due to this weather event, this restoration process will take time and will extend into Monday, April 8 and possibly longer for some customers,” Xcel announced in a Sunday news release.
The company had originally said that customers in Boulder County and other areas affected by the shut-offs would be without power from 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, to at least noon on Sunday, April 7.
The planned safety outage ended on Sunday afternoon. But Tyler Bryant, a spokesperson forXcel, told Boulder Reporting Lab that crews still needed to manually inspect about 600 miles of power lines to make sure they are safe before turning power back on.
“So now it’s really become a weather event, like your typical snow storm and windstorm, where we have to go out there and get everybody’s power back on,” Bryant said. “Outages could extend out until today, even tomorrow or longer.”
In addition to the 55,000 customers who experienced a planned power shutdown, around 100,000 more lost power due to damage on lines from high winds. As of Monday morning, Xcel had restored electricity to 65% of the total, it said.
Xcel said it was focusing on repairing wind-damaged power lines before addressing the preemptively shut-off lines for safety reasons. The company’s crews assessed the damage and started power restoration after the winds calmed. Crews were also visually inspecting the 600-plus miles of lines shut off in advance to ensure they’re safe to reactivate.
Xcel said customers can follow progress on its outage map, which it said will be updated with estimated restoration times when they’re available.
This weekend’s preemptive shut-offs were the first time Xcel Colorado cut power to try to avoid a downed line starting a wildfire. The worst of the storm produced wind gusts of up to 95 mph, according to the National Weather Service Boulder. By Sunday morning, the highest winds had decreased in the Boulder area, and the high wind warning had been canceled, though a Red Flag Warning for fire risk continued.
More than 40,000 Boulder County residents were without power on Sunday morning, according to the outage map.
Many residents have been frustrated and confused about the power shut-offs and Xcel’s communication efforts. Although Xcel said it notified all affected customers before the shut-offs, numerous reports indicate that some residents either didn’t receive any notice or were informed just before the power went off, leaving them little time to prepare. This was particularly challenging for vulnerable residents.
“I am on oxygen and need to know exactly where you are doing this,” Jenny Marie Hatch, of Longmont, wrote on X prior to the wildfire safety outages. This echoes the confusion and fear reported by Boulder Reporting Lab about an oxygen-dependent resident frantically trying to charge her batteries amid prolonged power losses in Boulder County during the last storm.
As of 7:20 p.m. on April 7, Foothills Hospital was still without power, with no estimated restoration.
“We’re still on generator power,” hospital staff told Boulder Reporting Lab earlier in the day. “The planned outage was supposed to be until 12, but we haven’t had any updates from Xcel. I just called and they couldn’t give me an estimated time for restoration.”
An employee at the city’s emergency dispatch reported no major emergency incidents from the outage so far, with most calls asking about power restoration times. They added that there are plans to help those using continuous oxygen if the outage persists.
“Dionne Waugh, a public information officer with the Boulder Police Department, also said the department has not responded to any emergencies from the outage. The county reported a “disturbing trend of individuals disregarding traffic laws, particularly at intersections with non-functional traffic lights.”Dionne Waugh, a public information officer with the Boulder Police Department, also said the department has not responded to any emergencies from the outage. The county reported a “disturbing trend of individuals disregarding traffic laws, particularly at intersections with non-functional traffic lights.
“This reckless behavior has led to multiple accidents and poses a significant threat to the safety of our community,” it added.
Seven BVSD buildings are affected by the power outages, according to the school district.
Residents have been confused about why certain areas were shut off this weekend and not others, with neighboring blocks experiencing different power situations. It was unclear which areas were without power. Hours after the outages, Xcel shared a map of the preemptive shut-off areas, but it was blurred, the company explained, due to security concerns regarding the location of transmission infrastructure. A crowd-sourced map from Reddit in Boulder has tried to fill the gap.
Concerns over food spoilage prompted Boulder’s Office of Disaster Management to put out a guide for how to keep food safe. And starting Monday morning, spoiled food can be brought in non-glass containers for composting to Western Disposal (2051 63rd Street).
The power shut-offs come two years after the Marshall Fire, Colorado’s most destructive wildfire to date. An investigation by Boulder County officials pointed to an Xcel power line, dislodged by strong winds on Dec. 30, 2021, as a partial cause. According to the investigation, the dislodged line sparked upon contact with other wires, igniting the dry underbrush. Xcel has denied this allegation.
Over 200 lawsuits have been filed against Xcel by insurance companies, homeowners and local governments, accusing the utility of negligence. A key argument is Xcel’s alleged failure to anticipate and prepare for the extreme wind conditions that exacerbated the Marshall Fire.
Xcel has said that the recent changes in high-wind protocols are not related to the Marshall Fire or the lawsuits, but instead are part of its Wildfire Mitigation Program. The program has received $450 million in funding since 2019 to “protect lives, homes, and Colorado’s forests from the threat of wildfire.”
Meanwhile, a fire victim has filed a lawsuit against an Xcel subsidiary in Texas, accusing it of igniting the Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle. The lawsuit claims a collapsed Xcel utility pole sparked the blaze. Xcel maintains that the fire’s origin remains undetermined and is under investigation.
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25 Comments
We live in Louisville and recwicws the phone call from Xcel informing us that our home would be without power starting “around 3:00” on Sat. until approximately noon Sunday (or possibly later). Note: I rely on non-invasive ventilation at night due to an underlying muscle disease. Try as I might, I was unable to locate a map from Xcel to confirm we would be in the impacted area.) However, we never lost power. This morning we received the follow-up phone message from them on Sunday re: the time frame for turning our power back on, and warning us that it may not be until Monday).
While we were grateful to not be without power, I can’t stop thinking about how this preemptive decision by Xcel negatively impacted those with fewer resources, the elderly and disabled, families, and those who work remotely (and could be without power come Monday). Like many, I wonder is this will be a more common occurrence (each time there is a prediction of a high-wind event). Will Xcel ever invest in longer-term solutions (e.g., moving vulnerable power lines underground)?Reply
Considering their ceo / president / chairman makes over 10 million a year, they must not be concerned about the cost of lawsuits, or the cost of human life, like those with medical conditions that require oxygen, etc.
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This was mainly a CYA because of Xcel lack of maintenance on their infrastructure, for those that were de-energized prior to the wind. it was handled so poorly most if not all of those lines are not damaged.
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LMAO. Couldn’t happen to a nicer group of people. You crybully about them causing fires, you attempt to seize their assets via eminent domain and blame them on the Climate Scam. Now you get 48 hours to cool your jets. LOLOLOLOLOL!
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You must be a shareholder
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That is a pointless comment that pejoratively assumes everyone has the same opinion. Whatever people think about the previous events it is very clear that this one was handled extremely poorly. And when customers have no choice but to take their service, because they are a monopoly, we should all rightly expose their deficiencies and ask them to do better.
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Stay classy bri 🙄
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Oh yeah, all that money you wasted on pursuing the municipal utility that smart people knew was an impossibility, was supposed to pay for utility wire undergrounding. Inconvenient fact.
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What are they doing with the $450 million?
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I am glad Xcel is taking preemptive action to address fire risk. However, the communication around it, particularly the the lead time here for people to prepare and deal w medical needs, phone charging needs, getting ice to protect food or cooking it before power went out, dealing w possible disruption of work on Monday for those that work from home, , etc was woefully inadequate. There needs to be accurate information about restartup times and there needs to be greater warning if Excel is going to do this in the future.
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We have underground power lines and no power. The Xcel outage map is useless for determining the status of our neighborhood. Xcel inability to communicate what is going on is a sounding and inexcusable.
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Has anyone seen any trees down anywhere that could possibly be affecting power lines? This was not a major event by any stretch. Xcel stated there was nil fire danger at this time since vegetation is not dry yet. If two day shutdowns are the new norm now any time the wind blows, the city needs to communicate that clearly so people can be prepared far in advance.
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It does seem Xcel has an agenda that is not being revealed publicly at this time. However, their reasons for this ridiculous power outage and the continuation of it well beyond will no doubt be revealed and leave them open to even more law suits. Contiguous neighborhoods with and without power and the total lack of consistent and honest communication, make it even more obvious there is another reason for this shut down and the continuance of it.
I would guess there are some large corporate projects that necessitated a shut down and the 6-8 hours of wind allowed for that time to be extended for these other reasons. We are the customers of this public utility and you should be serving us before the stock holders in the company.Reply
One can’t help but wonder the condition of Xcel’s infrastructure. Especially after the Marshall fire, for this to be necessary for over a day and a half.
High winds in Boulder county? Now why would that be a surprise? And why isn’t the infrastructure up to handling it?
I wasn’t notified of the impending blackout and see that across south Boulder road in Louisville proper, they never lost power…
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I don’t know enough to second guess Excel’s decision to preemptively shut down the lines. But the process for restoring power seems terrible. The areas that never lost power or have been restored vs. areas still without power on Sunday night seem haphazard, and I question how much fire safety has gone into the determination of which neighborhoods lost power and which one’s didn’t. I’d also like to know if the visual inspection requirement is a best practice or a regulatory requirement. In either event, it seems some risk assessment should be built into the process to determine whether visual inspection is necessary when (i) the wind has died down (any fire caused by a re-start isn’t going to spread fast) and (ii) vegetation is moist. I also wonder if the many Excel crews I saw working in Four Mile Canyon today on my bike ride (at least 7 trucks) couldn’t have been better deployed to the heavily populated areas that are also without power. From a safety standpoint, driving around at 6:30 this evening I noticed a lot of traffic lights that are still out in Louisville and western Lafayette — clearly dangerous, especially with night approaching. Again, where is the risk assessment?
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We live in Louisville and we’ve been without power since Saturday afternoon. We never received any notice from Xcel; the only reason we knew about it ahead of time is a friend texted me. Yet all the business in Louisville seem to have power. Come on Xcel! Get it together.
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And just wait for it…
Xcel will use this as an excuse to ask for a rate increase… to improve their ‘infrastructure’…Reply
I live in upper Table Mesa and never lost power but Xfinity internet has been shut down for 40 hours now. The amount of business lost should be compensated by Xcel and Xfinity, considering what is paid to them. It is egregious and the PUC should ride them both for the terrible communication.
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GEEZ: Could Xcel have found a worse color and contrast for that map?
Seems they were ‘following the direction to provide information’ in a way that doesn’t provide information at all.
They would most likely have fewer PR issues if they just told us what we need to know.Reply
Our neighborhood lines are buried so we didn’t lose power but we are still waiting for Century Link
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Don’t attribute your good fortune to buried power lines. Our lines are also buried but we spent the weekend without electricity.
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My concern is that this is going to be a common occurrence with Xcel. My home was not affected – this time. A friend who has been affected may have to dispose of all the contents of her refrigerator – now think if that would be each of us the next time. And this time we had “okay enough” temperatures – next time, it could be quite cold. I was constantly online trying to provide information to my friend who wanted to remain at her apartment – that was a joke.
Another neighbor owns a restaurant that was in black-out. Not only was that significant lost revenue on a big sports weekend, but lost revenue for the workers and now the possible loss of thousands of dollars of food inventory, which is tightly monitored for health and safety conditions.There has been no clarity of where they are, what lines will come back on – Xcel clearly needs to come up with more resources and refined processes to bring the system back online promptly, not up to 24 hours after the winds no longer posed the threat they had.
This will now become common place, and I cannot imagine how much this will affect our (health) safety and economics. I urge the County Commissioners and the State to push hard on Xcel to get their act together on planned outages (particularly the “post” windstorm re-start), and then to further get their act together to bury lines in the most vulnerable areas (and that would be much of Boulder County near the foothills, for sure!). I will be writing to the commissioners and to the Governor’s office – and the more stories they hear from others, the more they’ll be equipped with to press on Xcel.
And I’m not just some whiner – I lost everything I had worked for my whole life in the Marshall Fire. Let’s all get realistic in what is ahead of us and Xcel Energy.
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I was so relieved to leave the Boulder area this weekend. The lack of any warnings posted at intersections with traffic lights out and the odd configuration of the outage seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Driving through some busy areas every third light was out and drivers were just continuing though intersections at high speeds in each direction.
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Not surprised. A majority of power poles snapped in half along 36 between Boulder and Lyons. This wasn’t for nothing.
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East of Broadway and S of Hanover was taken down from about 3:30pm Sat until 6pm Sunday. The west side of Broadway never got turned off. I recommend those lines that were preemptively “de-energized” be first to be put underground.
I’m also waiting for Wright to come and trim/remove the trees they tagged two weeks ago.Reply
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