Xcel Energy: Restoration of power could extend into Monday

Xcel Energy stated at 11 a.m. Sunday that bringing power back online after the overnight windstorm could extend into Monday for some residents of Colorado's Front Range. 

The company stated there were 55,000 customers whose power was deliberately cut by the company Saturday afternoon during the state's first Public Safety Power Shutdown, along with another 100,000 who lost power accidently due to windstorm-caused damage to the local electricity grid. 

Saturday, Xcel claimed those 55,000 customers would lose electricity in six Front Range counties in order to reduce risk of wildfires that could be caused by downed power lines. Xcel began notifying customers four hours before the planned outage.

In a Saturday press conference, Xcel Colorado President Robert Kenney described how the company would stage about 40 crews to begin visually examining power lines prior to re-energizing them on Sunday. A time for full restoration of power was expected sometime Sunday.

The change in the estimated restoration time means some customers could spend a second day without electricity.

At 11 a.m. Sunday, outages still impacted more than 136,000 Xcel customers, according to the company's outage map.   

Farther north, Poudre Valley REA - which did not voluntarily shut off power - was reacting to system damage with multiple crews Sunday. It's reported number of outages had dropped below 9,000 by 10:30 a.m.

To the southwest of the Denver metro area, CORE Electric Cooperative had almost 12,000 customers without power as of 9 a.m. Sunday. Its crews were concentrated in the Conifer area.

One small fire ignited Saturday night in the foothills. It was located near the intersection of Big Elk Meadows Road and Highway 36. This forced the closure of Highway 36 between Lyons and Estes Park. Called the Moose Fire, the blaze never spread to more than two acres and hot spots are being eliminated Sunday, according to a social media post by the U.S. Forest Service.