High winds swept across the metro area Thursday afternoon, leaving about 7,200 people without power and damaging several buildings.
Only 600 people remained without power Thursday evening, and most of those were expected to have power restored by morning, according to Xcel Energy.
The outages seem to have come from one large gust – a microburst – about 1:40 p.m., which led to power lines and poles being blown down or trees blown onto lines, said Xcel spokeswoman Ethnie Groves.
A microburst occurs when evaporating rain accelerates air as it falls to the surface. The air then hits high speeds and heads in different directions, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Kalina.
The Weather Service radar recorded winds of about 35 miles per hour, but it is likely that winds could have been anywhere from 50 to 60 mph, he said.
Almost 4,500 people lost power in the east Denver area bounded by Quebec and Jackson streets and East 13th and East Eighth avenues, Groves said. There were smaller outages in northeastern Denver.
The wind also extensively damaged the roof of Alameda East Veterinary Hospital.
“There was just a really loud roar,” spokeswoman Lauren Immel said. “It just sounded like thunder; it just lasted longer.”
The hospital, known as the home of Animal Planet’s “Emergency Vets,” had no disruption in its service, Immel said.
Three people were injured on Ride the Rockies when a tent that they were eating in blew over and metal tent poles struck at least two of them in the head. Their conditions were not available.
Fire crews were inundated with calls related to the wind.
“It’s been a very busy couple of hours for us,” said Denver Fire Department spokesman Phil Champagne.
Two fires were caused by branches falling on power lines in Aurora, said Fire Department spokesman Mike Ackerman.
The wind cut a wide swath through the metro area, sending crews out for other calls, including elevator rescues, electrical shorts and car accidents related to traffic-light outages.
