BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — Four days after hurricane‑force winds tore through Boulder County, families still without power are leaning on neighbors and volunteers to get through the cold, dark aftermath.
Boulder County was hit with gusts reaching 112mph on Friday morning, causing extensive damage and severe power outages.
“It's really hard. It's pretty hard times,” said Mayte Cerceda, a Boulder County resident who woke up in the dark this morning as she and her family entered day 4 without power. “At night it's really cold.”
The one question she and her family have been asking is “When will the power be back?”
Cerceda said her family spent Saturday morning throwing out all the food in their fridge, completely clearing it out, after losing power on Wednesday.
She said her family couldn’t find a solution during this difficult time.
That's when Pinewood Church got involved to help.
“My family went on a walk in our neighborhood last night after some of the winds had died down. It was so intense, like going outside. It was so windy,” said Jess Manuel, the Lead Pastor at Pinewood Church and a Boulder County resident herself.
“We started seeing trees on cars and houses, and so that's kind of when it hit us. ‘Hey, we don't see anyone out here. We should try to see what kind of relief efforts we can do,” she recalled.
Pinewood Church announced Saturday that it would begin relief efforts for people impacted by the strong winds.
They brought volunteers together to repair damage and pack food for those who lost theirs during the outages.
Manuel said she wants people to know they are not alone.
“We have teams that are willing and ready. We have about 150 people on our serve team that are ready to go as soon as they get the message,” she exclaimed.
But while they’re lending a helping hand, Manuel and some of the other volunteers are dealing with similar situations at home.
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Back‑to‑back windstorms batter Colorado, leave tens of thousands without power
Manuel said she lost power on Wednesday, then it came back on for a little while on Thursday night before immediately turning off again.
“We don't have a signal at our house. We don't have Wi Fi,” she said. “The entire rubber roof of our house is completely gone, and so thankfully, it didn't rain last night.”
Manuel said her home was not originally a part of Xcel’s planned shut-offs.
“I think that was kind of everyone's story. Even if you weren't in the shut off, you kind of got shut off,” she said.
Mike Hegarty, one of the volunteers who showed up with Pinewood Church for relief efforts Saturday morning, said he did not have power either, saying he lost it early Friday morning.
Regardless, he believes it’s important to help others.
“This was just sort of a natural thing for us when there's an emergency,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here, happy to be able to help the community.”
He and others are helping families like Cerceda’s find a solution.
“It makes us feel good, because now we have a little bit of a source of help,” Cerceda said.
To volunteer with Pinewood Church, text VOLUNTEER to +18332854418 or visit their website.
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