LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — At least five schools in Larimer and Weld counties will cancel classes Friday ahead of planned power outages by Xcel Energy due to critical fire weather conditions expected over the next several days.
In Larimer County, students at Timnath Elementary, Timnath Middle-High School, Cache la Poudre Elementary and Cache la Poudre Middle School will not have classes “due to the planned Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) by Xcel Energy” on Friday, Poudre School District officials said in a letter to parents and staff Thursday.
All athletics programs and other activities at these schools were also canceled, with the exception of the Timnath Middle-High School girls’ basketball team, which will compete at an away-game.
“Students from these schools will be unable to attend the scheduled YES concert due to the closure,” district officials said, and AlphaBEST will not be available at the affected schools.
District officials said they appreciated parents’ understanding for the closures “as we make decisions with the safety and well-being of students and staff as our top priority.”
The planned outage is forcing Timnath Elementary parents like Trevor Bean to scramble for childcare alternatives after his daughter's school announced it would close.
"It'd be nice to have an alternative to completely shutting off the power," Bean said.
Classes at Ridgeline Middle School students in Weld County were also canceled Friday due to the planned outages by Xcel, Weld RE-4 School District officials said in a news release.
"Xcel Energy notified the district that it is highly likely that they will enter 'Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings' on Friday and will proactively shut off power to prevent wildfire environments," a Weld RE-4 spokesperson said.
All afterschool practices, activities, and events, as well as facility rentals at Ridgeline Middle School were canceled as a result, but no makeup day will be required, officials said.
All other Weld RE-4 schools will operate on a normal schedule, they added.
All of eastern Colorado will be under a high wind warning beginning at around 7 p.m. Thursday through 5 p.m. Friday afternoon due to northwest winds ranging from 30-40 mph with gusts as high as 75 mph, according to forecasters with the National Weather Service in Boulder.
A red flag warning will also be in effect for northeastern Colorado, including the Denver metro, from mid-morning Friday through late afternoon as northwest winds gust up to 60-70 mph in the northeast plains and humidity values reach figures in the teens.
Because of those high winds, coupled with ongoing dry conditions in northeast Colorado, Xcel Energy officials announced Wednesday they were considering shutting off power in parts of Fort Collins and certain areas of Weld County.
By Thursday afternoon, an Xcel Energy spokesperson said conditions were such that the those shutoffs were necessary.
While northern Colorado residents acknowledged the outages won't be easy, some support the safety measure.
"I feel that it's important to think about what could happen," said Fort Collins resident Amanda Forzani.
However, some hope Colorado can develop a less disruptive plan for the future.
"There's got to be a better solution to make sure things still function normally," Bean said.
The shutoffs will impact about 9,000 customers in Larimer and Weld counties beginning at around 8 a.m. Friday, an Xcel Energy spokesperson said. Xcel did not provide more specific locations for these planned outages.
If a power outage does occur, Xcel Energy officials said power won't be back up until after high winds and elevated fire risks have ended.
"We will work to limit the number of those impacted and are preparing to ensure a quick restoration of power," said president of Xcel Energy Colorado Robert Kenney. "We recognize that any amount of time without power is a hardship. As always, our crews will work as safely and quickly as they can to restore power in the event of a PSPS or other weather-related outages.”
Weather News
Xcel may shut off power in parts of Fort Collins, areas of Weld County Friday
Because of the elevated fire risk Friday, Xcel Energy officials said they will they activate Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings, or EPSS.
EPSS are extra protections which allow power lines to remain active until an issue is detected such as “a tree branch or other object touching” a line, according to Xcel Energy officials.
Once an issue is detected, power to the line is shut off and those lines remain down “until our crews can visually inspect power lines to make sure it is safe to turn them back on.”
“This may mean that if an outage occurs, it could last longer,” officials said.
How people can prepare ahead of a potential power shutoff
The first thing people should do is stay up-to-date by going to Xcel’s website ahead of Friday’s high fire danger event. Xcel customers should also make sure their account information and communications preferences are up to date in their Xcel accounts, and should check the status of an outage by going to Xcel’s statewide Outage Map, which can notify people when outages may be resolved. Xcel Energy also provided a list of recommended items for a home emergency kit:
- Battery-powered radio
- Flashlights
- Batteries
- Backup phone chargers
- Phone that does not require electricity
- Non-electric alarm clock
- Bottled water and non-perishable food
- Manual can opener
- First-Aid kit
- Extension cords
Xcel Energy officials said customers with medical equipment that requires electricity should take steps to prepare backup power should outages occur, adding they would be Colorado residents with qualifying medical conditions will be contacted by the utility company about this expected shutoff.
Denver7's Claire Lavezzorio contributed to this report.
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