Xcel Energy plans to preemptively cut power to more than 7,000 customers in southern Colorado on Wednesday, citing high winds and elevated fire risks.
Red flag warnings were issued Wednesday by for most of Colorado, including the Front Range, Eastern Plains and southern state — where Xcel will implement a starting at noon.
The red flag warnings, which will be in effect from 10 a.m. to midnight, call for wind gusts of up to 60 mph and humidity as low as 5%, according to the weather service.
“Extreme fire danger is expected,” according to a for the San Luis Valley area, which is expected to be impacted by Xcel’s outages. “Fires will uncontrollably spread and be very destructive.”
The San Luis Valley is also experiencing extreme to exceptional drought, .
Xcel’s preemptive power outages will affect roughly 7,100 customers in Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla and Rio Grande counties, according to the utility. Unplanned outages may also impact customers outside of those counties.
“The company will monitor weather conditions in real-time on Wednesday and will only begin de-energizing lines if extreme weather conditions materialize,” utility officials stated in a news release.
If lines are de-energized, power won’t be restored until the high winds and fire risk subside, Xcel officials said. The worst of Wednesday’s extreme weather is expected to subside around 7 p.m., but power restoration will take hours and may last into Thursday, according to the utility.
Xcel crews need to patrol the entire power line to ensure itap safe before restoring power, according to Xcel officials. Rural, mountainous and other difficult-to-reach areas may experience extended outages.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
