This is a developing story and will be updated. Last updated at 7:40 p.m. Dec. 16. For updates, subscribe to BRL Today.
Xcel Energy says it is likely to cut power to customers in Boulder County on Wednesday, Dec. 17, beginning around 10 a.m., in response to extreme fire danger. The utility plans another update Wednesday morning.
Xcel now estimates the shutoff could affect about 50,000 customers across Boulder, Clear Creek, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties, a significant reduction from earlier projections. Customers can check whether they may be affected by entering their address on Xcel’s outage map. Longmont and Lyons are not included in the planned outage.
“As teams continue to refine the scope of the event, the number of customers who will be potentially affected by a [public safety power shutoff] PSPS has decreased significantly, although we are reminding customers that due to anticipated high winds, other outages could take place outside of areas impacted by the PSPS,” Xcel said.
Screenshot from Dec. 16 evening of the outage area for Xcel’s planned shutoff in Boulder County on Dec. 17.
Boulder’s Office of Disaster Management urged affected residents to prepare now by charging phones, medical devices and backup batteries, and making plans for food, water, medications and pet needs. A preparation sheet is available on the city’s website. To sign up for emergency alerts, visit bocoalert.org or download the ReachWell app to receive alerts in other languages.
Residents who rely on electricity for medical equipment, such as oxygen tanks, should have received notice through Xcel’s Safe for Colorado program
This would not be Boulder’s first experience with a public safety power shutoff. In April 2024, Xcel cut power to about 55,000 customers in Boulder County with little notice, triggering widespread confusion among residents, businesses and local governments. Critical facilities, including assisted living centers, scrambled to respond, as did restaurants. City officials struggled to determine which parts of the grid were affected. Emails later obtained by Boulder Reporting Lab revealed that Boulder’s wastewater treatment plant came within minutes of spilling untreated sewage into Boulder Creek after both substations serving the facility unexpectedly lost power.
The outage lasted nearly three days for some customers and cost Boulder businesses an estimated $1.4 million in losses. The outages appeared random in part because Boulder’s electric grid is highly fragmented, with neighboring homes often served by different feeder lines, a complexity that was made worse by unclear and inaccurate maps from Xcel.
In the aftermath, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission opened an investigation into Xcel’s handling of the shutoff, citing communication failures and inadequate coordination with emergency services.
City officials said Tuesday that Boulder’s water and wastewater treatment facilities are prepared for a potential outage and will operate on backup power if needed.
“Unless circumstances change, we can sustain operations for the expected duration of the power shutdown,” said Joe Taddeucci, Boulder’s director of utilities.
The city’s wastewater treatment plant nearly overflowed during the power outage on April 6, 2024. Credit: John Herrick
Since the first outage, Xcel says it has overhauled its public safety power shutoff protocols. The utility says it has implemented a phased warning system, better coordination with local emergency managers and critical facilities, and committed to clearer, more frequent updates before and during a shutoff.
One facility that saw a clear difference this time was Frasier Meadows, a senior living community that was caught off guard during the April 2024 outage. Then, staff learned about the shutoff from residents and had just over an hour to prepare, according to Julie Soltis, the facility’s director of communications.
This time, Soltis said, an Xcel representative reached out on Sunday, three days in advance. “The multiple day notice has been very beneficial,” she said. Frasier Meadows was later told it is not currently on the list of planned shutoffs. The facility has five generators to run medical equipment and most food services and tested them on Dec. 16.
In addition to the planned shutoff, Xcel will also activate its “enhanced powerline safety settings.” This means powerlines will shut off more easily if they are disturbed by wind or debris, even outside planned outage areas. When that happens, power does not automatically come back on. Crews must first inspect the lines to make sure they are safe, meaning power restoration can take many hours or longer, even after weather conditions improve.
Businesses and public-facing services across Boulder County are weighing whether they can stay open if power is cut.
“We’re all very curious to see how this all unfolds,” Peter Waters, owner of T/aco, said. “We have gas generators that I can bring in to keep refrigeration going and keep our food safe, but there’s no way for us to run our business without power to the building.”
Hosea Rosenberg, executive chef and owner of Blackbelly and Santo, said he has experienced more than half a dozen power outages in recent years, all of which were stressful and costly for his restaurants.
“Not only does it put all of our food in jeopardy, but we lose the sales from the day or days, and employees lose out on work,” Rosenberg wrote in an email to Boulder Reporting Lab. He said power surges can also damage electronic equipment, adding to the cost.
In preparation for a potential shutoff, Rosenberg said he has rented a large refrigerated truck and stocked portable coolers to protect food if power is cut.
“It’s a horrible situation that none of us want to deal with,” Rosenberg said. “But if this is what it takes to keep the community safe, then we deal with it and move forward.”
Andy Schultheiss, a spokesman for All Roads, the city’s largest homeless shelter in North Boulder, said the shelter has rented a generator. They’re still seeking cords and lights.
Schultheiss said they have recently had about 100 people at the shelter during the day. Staff plan to serve a cold lunch. He said they expect about 170 people to spend the night.
BVSD, meanwhile, said schools are expected to operate as normal unless families receive an alert or see closure information posted on their school’s website. It directed families to its emergency information webpage for updates.
CU Boulder has canceled all in-person and online classes for Dec. 17.
Some business owners are criticizing Xcel’s reliance on power shutoffs as a wildfire prevention tool.
Dave Query, owner of Big Red F Restaurant Group, which includes Centro and the Velvet Elk, pushed back against the outages in a letter sent Tuesday to local legislators and Gov. Jared Polis. Query argued that Xcel is presenting a false choice between devastating wildfires and lengthy power outages during increasingly frequent wind events, and said the utility should instead bury its powerlines.
“These power companies should aggressively be sued, fined and sanctioned — for not burying them,” Query wrote. “We will not have wildfires instigated from blown-down power lines when these high-wire lines don’t exist because they’re all underground.”
Fire conditions and restoration outlook
The National Weather Service forecasts sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts of 65 to 85 mph starting around 11 a.m. on Dec. 17. The strongest winds are expected west of I-25 and north of I-70, where any new fire could rapidly spread under the conditions. Much of Boulder County is under a Red Flag Warning for high fire danger from 11 a.m. Dec. 16 until 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17.
The expected event comes nearly four years after the Marshall Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history, which killed two people and destroyed or damaged about 1,000 homes. Xcel and two telecommunications companies later agreed to pay $640 million to settle thousands of related lawsuits alleging the utility’s equipment sparked one of the fires that merged into the Marshall Fire. Xcel is also facing lawsuits in Texas tied to the 2024 Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest wildfire in Texas history.
BoulderCAST has warned that the weather setup shares some similarities with the downslope wind event that fueled the Marshall Fire, particularly strong west winds and very low humidity. However, its forecasters stress that conditions are not a repeat of December 2021, with fuels less abundant, drought less severe and winds expected to be weaker and shorter-lived. Even so, the combination of high winds and dry conditions is enough to create elevated fire risk across the Front Range. Xcel expects conditions to begin improving around 6 p.m. Wednesday, though a cold front later in the day could bring additional gusty winds.
Xcel said restoring outages following a public safety power shutoff or wind-related damage may take several hours to several days, because crews must inspect power lines and repair any damage before electricity can be safely restored. The utility also warned that customers outside the planned shutoff areas could still lose power due to high winds, which could further delay restoration.
Xcel said it plans to share another update on the potential power shutoff the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 17, noting that forecasts may continue to change.
Updates are available on Xcel’s event update page, outage map and notifications, as well as the Office of Disaster Management’s website.
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