Xcel Energy anticipates that most of the more than 12,000 customers in Boulder County will have their power restored by 10 p.m. Saturday night.
If that holds true, it would be light at the end of the tunnel for residents who have experienced intermittent power outages for four days. If the damage was severe enough, power may not be restored to some in until Sunday, Xcel said Saturday in a news release.
As of 4:18 p.m. Saturday, Xcel’s energy outage map listed 12,757 customers in Boulder being impacted by power outages. That number was more than 15,000 for much of Saturday and was declining steadily throughout the day.
The latest round of Public Safety Power Shutoffs stemmed from Friday’s strong winds, which the National Weather Service deemed a “Particularly Dangerous Situation.” The strong winds, dry conditions and unseasonably warm weather brought worries of increased wildfire risk. The weather service pulled that designation and a red-flag warning early Saturday as winds subsided.
Wind gusts peaked beyond 100 mph on Friday as the city of Boulder urged people to stay off the roads. The damage was widespread in the county, from signs and power lines being knocked down to roofs being damaged.
Xcel crews were working to restore power Saturday, said city of Boulder spokesperson Sarah Huntley. Crews were prioritizing parts of the grid that served “medically compromised individuals,” she added.
Huntley added that crews are assessing “significant damage” in Nederland and unincorporated Boulder County.
Tim and Carrie Wise have operated Wise Buys Antiques along Second Avenue in Niwot for 39 years. The power for their home and store went out about 6 a.m. Friday. The timing stung for the couple because the weekend before Christmas is big for small businesses.
“We’re usually closed Sunday and Monday, so we said we’re going to be open (those days). As soon as the lights come on, we’re open,” Carrie said.
The Wises felt lucky to operate an antique store. They simply grabbed a couple of kerosene lamps they had for sale and used them to light their home from Friday into Saturday.
Power came on for them and neighboring buildings briefly about 10 a.m. Saturday and went out 31 minutes later. Their power was restored about midday Saturday.
Abby Bok’s north Boulder home lost power Wednesday during the first round of strong winds. She, her husband and her two kids again received power on Thursday so they could prepare before Friday’s shutoff. They were still without power as of Thursday afternoon.
Bok and many others throughout the county understood or even outright supported Xcel’s decision, but they were frustrated with what they perceived as a lack of quality of communication on outages and their status.
“I would rather have a standing house and not have to experience a fire,” Bok said.
Bok called Xcel’s communications “confusing.” She said she was told Friday that power would return by 10 p.m. Saturday, then was told it would be Friday at 6:45 p.m. before again being told 10 p.m. Saturday. Bok received Xcel’s update text messages but said one of her neighbors hadn’t received anything. Bok has sparse cellphone service in north Boulder, which made it difficult to open links in Xcel’s texts.
What’s stressing Bok out the most is lost work time before the holidays because of the outages.
“I was expecting to have a couple of days to tie things up with work that I lost. So, I’m gonna have to work more next week than I was hoping to with holidays,” Bok said, later adding: “I work remotely with people all over the country, so they don’t know what’s going on here. So trying to explain the confusion has been a little frustrating, that I don’t know when I’m gonna lose power or when I’m gonna get it back, if I’m also gonna have internet because the schools are out. So it’s not like I can just go find a coffee shop to work at with the kids at home.”
An Xcel representative was unavailable for an interview.
Regarding communication, Xcel said Saturday it “has been communicating with customers throughout the week, including updating them this morning on restoration times. Customers were contacted via their preferred communication method they selected in My Account. They will continue to receive updates as the estimates are refined and restoration work progresses.”