A high wind warning has been issued for Denver and the Front Range from Fort Collins to Pueblo through 7 p.m. tonight.
The National Weather Service said a storm system will move into northeast Colorado today and create strong winds over the Front Range and northeast plains this afternoon.
Forecasters said the winds will increase and intensify this afternoon through the early evening.
There will be sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph with some gusts as high as 70 mph.
The Weather Service said a high wind warning means that strong and potentially damaging winds are either occurring or are highly likely.
Forecasters said travelers should be especially cautious because the winds will make it difficult for people driving lightweight or high profile vehicles, especially along east-west roads.
Blowing dust could also reduce visibility.
At 1:30 p.m., the Colorado Department of Transportation reported that a semi-truck, which was empty, was blown over by the winds seven miles east of Watkins.
CDOT spokesman Bob Wilson said the eastbound lanes of I-70 were temporarily closed.
He added that there is a high-wind advisory in place along the length of I-70 from Silverthorne to the west of Denver to the Kansas line east of the Mile High city.
LaRiea Thompson, director of emergency management for Elbert County, said that three semi-trucks and one RV blew over on I-70 between Limon and Agate. She said another two semi-trucks ran off the interstate. Minor injuries were reported, she said.
Thompson said the National Weather Service is estimating that the wind is blowing about 55 to 65 mph.
However, Thompson said the winds may be gusting much higher.
She said the overturned semi-trucks are in both the east and westbound lanes.
In nearby Agate, the U.S. Post Office closed when high winds collapsed a small structure that was attached to the post office.
Thompson said police and firefighters were called to the building at 1st Avenue and Main Street at 11:48 a.m. on the collapse.
No one was injured in the incident, she said.
Thompson said the post office was closed after the post mistress reported possible cracks in the Post Office. It will remain closed until a damage assessment is done, she said.
Xcel Energy spokesman Mark Stutz said that the wind has caused “galloping wires and some snap-offs” of lines which has caused “several dozen small outages.” Those outages, he said, have affected several thousand customers.
However, Stutz said there are no major outages in the Denver metro area.
Mark Firefighters in the Indian Hills and Conifer areas have responded to four calls where trees brought down by the wind have fallen into power lines sparking fires, said Elk Creek Fire Protection District spokeswoman Jody Wagner.
She said that all the fires have been quickly extinguished. But she said that in several locations, trees are still on top of the power lines.
Wagner said that there are several power outages in the Conifer and Indian Hills area.
In Denver, Denver Fire Department spokesman Phil Champagne said power lines are down at approximately 14 locations around the city. Downed lines may have caused several cars to catch fire in the vicinity of 1590 Cook St., said Champagne.
As of 12:30 p.m., Champagne the fires in the cars had been extinguished.
In Jefferson County, the West Metro Fire Protection District responded to a fire about noon in a townhouse in the 8600 block of Plymouth Avenue, according to spokeswoman Michelle French.
French said that a primary concern were the high winds, but that firefighters were able to confine the blaze to the townhome’s garage.
She said the townhouse was connected to four other units. She said that although the garage was completely destroyed, the two residents and two dogs inside escaped without injury.
“Considering the strong winds, the firefighters did an amazing job” containing the fire to the garage, said French.
The winds also damaged the roof at Rangeview High school in Aurora, although the fire department said no one was injured.
A 50- by 50-foot piece of metal roofing was partially loosened by the winds, a school district spokeswoman said.
School is out for the summer but some students who were there for activities were sent home as a precautionary measure. School security is monitoring the situation as the winds continue to blow.
There is a slight chance for thunderstorms over the northeast plains today. If storms develop, they could become severe with large hail and rain.
High winds are expected from the Front Range foothills east to the Kansas border.
A tornado watch has been issued through 8 p.m. for 11 eastern Colorado counties: Sedgwick, Logan, Cheyenne, Yuma, Prowers, Kit Carson, Bent, Washington, Phillips, Kiowa and Baca.
Also, forecasters are saying the central mountains will have winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph. The winds will become stronger this afternoon with gusts above treeline as high as 60 mph. The area includes Mount Evans, the Eisenhower Tunnel, the Kenosha Mountains, Breckenridge, Central City, Evergreen, Georgetown, Idaho Springs and Fairplay. Snow showers are currently following in the central mountains, said forecasters.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
