LITTLETON, Colo. — A tree blown over by strong winds snapped multiple power poles in a Littleton neighborhood, cutting power to dozens of neighbors Tuesday afternoon.
The power poles snapped in a neighborhood near South Arapahoe Drive and West Sterne Parkway just south of Euclid Middle School. Denver7 photojournalist Jim Waltz captured images of the snapped poles and of downed tree limbs in the area.
Xcel Energy crews and first responders were on scene tending to the damaged poles, which were still impacting 16 customers as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. Those customers would be without power until repairs are made, an Xcel spokesperson told Denver7.
Xcel’s outage map estimated 47 customers were initially affected by the power outage.
Neighbors Denver7 spoke to told us this all happened during strong, microburst-like wind gusts that happen regularly in the area.
“I could hear the rush of the wind. We’ve had them before,” Wayne Rausch told Denver7. “These microbursts blew down our 60-foot Cottonwood tree a couple of years ago. [...] They’re normally just tree shakers, but this one knocked down some limbs.”
The National Weather Service had warned of the possibility of strong, gusty winds – or dry microbursts – in the metro Tuesday.
Heads up Colorado! There could be isolated strong wind gusts due to dry microbursts today. Exercise caution, especially if on water. Strong winds can blow you off rafts. #cowx https://t.co/qGqVkH9M8R pic.twitter.com/6ewENSJ8H1
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) July 8, 2025
South Metro Fire Rescue advised people to avoid the area as live power lines were down.
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