A powerful snowstorm swept across Colorado today, knocking out power for thousands of people, closing I-70 between Denver and the Kansas state line and triggering rock slides in the foothills. Up to 20 inches of snow fell in the mountains.
Authorities said a Denver woman was killed after an 8-inch-diameter tree limb snapped off and struck her, and a 72-year old man was missing in the high country snow in Clear Creek County. Neighbors identified the woman as 73-year-old Ginny McKibben, a retired Denver Post reporter.
As of late this afternoon, some passengers at Denver International Airport had been on planes as long as five hours, waiting to get through de-icing. United had cancelled at least 14 departures, and at least 11 arrivals.
Dozens of schools across the state canceled classes or started late; at least three Denver schools were closed because they had no electricity.
“I’m not going outside this morning,” said Veronica Burke, associate manager of the Village Inn restaurant in Monument, near the 7,400-foot-high summit of Monument Hill between Denver and Colorado Springs.
The wind was blowing so hard outside the restaurant it was hard to tell how much snow had fallen, she said.
Authorities closed Interstate 70, the main east-west route across Colorado, from Denver east to Goodland, Kan. Other roads closed as well, including 70 miles of U.S. 24 from Limon southwest to Colorado Springs, SH 71 between Limon and Brush, US 36 between Byers and Last Chance, SH 86 between Kiowa and I-70, US 24 between Limon and Colorado Springs, northbound US 40/US 287 between Lamar and Limon, and State Highway 94 between Colorado Springs and US 40.
Fallen tree limbs blocked sidewalks and some streets in Denver’s older, leafier neighborhoods like Park Hill and Congress Park.
At East Seventh Avenue and Race Street, a 14-inch-diameter branch broke off Monday morning, knocking down secondary electric lines that power street lights in the area.
“This is the biggest one yet,” said Xcel Energy lineman Matt Koch about the limb, as he and a partner rolled up the downed wires and cut up portions of the fallen branch with a chainsaw.
As Koch worked, other snow-laden branches overhead were cracking loudly, signaling another possible fall.
Xcel Energy spokesman Tom Henley said the storm cut off power to 25,000 homes and businesses in Denver when power lines snapped and transformers failed. Crews were out in force, Henley said, but there was no word on when electricity would be back on.
Two children were taken to a hospital with minor injuries after a school bus slid backward down a steep embankment in Douglas County south of Denver, Douglas County schools spokeswoman Carol Kaness said. She did not know how many children had been on the bus.
An elementary school in southeast Denver sent students home with parents after the power failed before classes got under way. Fewer than half a dozen students remained at the school because their parents couldn’t be reached.
“We have no power, so we have no heat on right at this time,” said Greta Martinez, the principal at Slavens elementary.
Tom Hartman was shoveling snow outside the Schlessman Family YMCA in Denver before dawn when transformers began to crackle and die.
“You could hear them popping,” said Hartman, the YMCA’s membership director. “It was a pretty loud popping noise.” About 2,000 homes and businesses in the mountain town of Breckenridge lost power Sunday but were back online by this morning, Henley said.
Steady rain sent two rock slides tumbling onto Colorado 119 in Boulder Canyon northwest of Denver, forcing the closure of one lane and damaging a car. No one was hurt.
In southwestern Colorado, rain was believed to have triggered two rock slides in San Miguel County Sunday, including one that shut down one lane of Colorado 145 near Telluride. No injuries were reported, sheriff’s officials said.
The slow-moving system was expected to park over much of the state through Tuesday.
El Paso County Search and Rescue was called to help drivers who got stuck on snowy county roads east of Colorado Springs.
“We’ve got people out trying out the four-wheel-drive vehicles, and they’re finding out they don’t work very well,” search and rescue spokesman Steve Sperry said. Asked if he meant the drivers or the cars, Sperry laughed and said, “Yes.” Westbound I-70 between Copper Mountain and Vail Pass was closed for 2 1/2 hours late Sunday after multiple accidents, prompting the American Red Cross to open a shelter for stranded travelers in Silverthorne. Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park was also closed.
