Updated at 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.
More than 55,000 Colorado households remain without power Thursday after high winds damaged power lines on Wednesday.
While the wind has died down along the Front Range on Thursday, red flag warnings remain in effect for the northeast and the Eastern Plains through the early afternoon.
In Yuma County, a 12,000 acre fire is burning uncontained. Jake Rockwell, emergency manager for the Yuma County Office of Emergency Management, said it was one of three fires that started around 5 p.m. Wednesday after high winds downed power lines. The two smaller fires are contained. The 33 Fire continues burning between the towns of Yuma and Wray in a rural area and no homes are currently under threat.
The main power provider in the area is Y-W Electric Association. The company’s website describes “major power outages” in the area, with numerous crews on the ground doing repairs.
More high winds are expected tomorrow and Xcel plans another round of public safety power cutoffs. Some households will be without power for three days.
The company has set up resource centers with the Red Cross with access to phone charging, power, water and snacks. They are open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at Evergreen Library on County Highway 73 in Evergreen and Belmar Library on Allison Parkway in Lakewood.
The Boulder Office of Disaster Management has also set up seven resource centers at community centers and libraries, with charging stations for phones, EV cars and Wi-Fi.
According to the National Weather Service, the wind on Friday is expected to be most extreme in the foothills, with gusts up to 100 miles per hour. The high wind watch goes into effect at 10 a.m.
“It’s not going to be nearly as widespread of a wind event tomorrow,” said NWS Denver meteorologist Zach Hiris. “But we’re still looking at, especially in the Front Range, mountains and foothills, some gusts up into the 80 to 90 mile per hour range.” He said the wind is expected to worsen later in the day Friday.
Xcel officials say crews are on the ground restoring power as soon as possible. Their outage map lists more than 407 outage sites in the state.
Some schools remained closed Thursday, including in Jefferson and Boulder counties. Districts in Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties also canceled classes for the day.
Denver International Airport listed 108 delays so far today.
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.