Xcel: 34,000 without power

DIA running on time, but getting there is tough

Felix Doligosa, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 26, 2006 at midnight

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Xcel Energy has dispatched 80 repair crews to restore power to about 34,000 customers across the metro area, said Tom Henley, spokesman for the utility company.

"These are smaller outages, not the large circuit outages" that would affect 1,200 to 5,000 customers at a time, Henley said. "These are ... affecting anywhere from one house to 50 to 2,100 homes at a time."

The utility company also had 23 crews out to trim trees and branches that threatened to take out power lines, Henley said.

Colorado’s two major highways are closed west and south of Denver.

The westbound lanes of Interstate 70 are closed between Georgetown and the Eisenhower Tunnel due to a rock slide at Silver Plume and numerous accidents along the highway.

The eastbound lanes of the highway are closed from Silver Plume to the Golden exit.

Interstate 25 is closed in both directions between Castle Rock and the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs.

Also, U.S. 285 is closed from 5 miles west of Kipling Street to Fairplay.

East of Denver, delays and cancellations of flights at Denver International Airport are at a minimum. But getting to the airport is another story.

Pena Boulevard is snow packed and slushy with gusty winds whipping the new flakes across the highway. Traffic is bumper-to-bumper, making the drive slower.

DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon reported the snow if falling at a rate of about an inch an hour and all airlines are deicing before take-off.

"The airport is open and there are no significant problems," he said.

Passengers should call individual airlines to check on whether flights are on time or not.

For traffic reports, Colorado Department of Transportation’s recorded information is at 303-639-1111 or 1-877-315-7623.

Also, U.S. 285 is closed from Kenosha Pass to Fairplay because of blowing snow in South Park.

A slow-moving winter storm began to pick up speed over night, scattering snow across wide areas of Colorado and bringing with it high winds capable of creating blizzard-like conditions.

The storm was expected to dump a foot of snow or more along parts of the Front Range before moving out of the state.

Streets in and around Denver are slushy and slick and traffic is slowing down considerably compared to yesterday.

The National Weather Service is predicting periods of snow showers mixing with rain after noon.

The high today is expected to reach 38 with northwest winds up to 30 or 40 mph and new snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches is possible.

Tonight it will be mostly clear with a low temperature around 26, and tomorrow mostly sunny with a high near 54 and Saturday sunny and up to near 68-degrees.

In the meantime, conditions vary widely depending on where you are today.

A jackknifed semi-truck was blocking part of Interstate 25 near Colorado Springs, slowing traffic in an area where visibility was already limited to two or three feet.

A number of schools, businesses and organizations in and around Colorado Springs also announced plans to close for the day or operate on a delayed schedule.

In Castle Rock, winds were starting to pick up around 6:15 a.m., with snow blowing sideways and cutting visibility even more.

Evergreen reported about 6 inches of snow fell so fast that shoveled sidewalks and driveways could be seen covered again within minutes.

A blizzard warning remained in effect for portions of El Paso, Fremont and Pueblo counties until 6 p.m., with winter storm warnings covering southern, central and northern areas, including Aspen, Buena Vista, Castle Rock and Limon.

On the Eastern Plains, where forecasters first expected residents to see the worst of the storm, only a dense fog advisory was to be in effect until midmorning, replaced by a high wind warning.

Red Cross officials sent supplies to the plains' town of Byers east of Denver in case predicted winds of up to 45 mph create whiteout conditions on the 150-mile flat stretch of Interstate 70 to the Kansas state line and forces the main east-west route's closure.

A trailer with cots, blankets, water, and snacks was sent to the Byers Fire Station, where the Red Cross set up shelter for travelers stranded by storms in March and November.

CDOT officials said trucks statewide, including 100 in the Denver area, packing sand and deicer were ready to roll to help keep traffic flowing for the morning commute, said spokesman Mark Aultman.

Meanwhile, avalanche experts said recent storms have left a snowpack of up to 2 feet in the mountains and several avalanches have already been reported, including 10 in the past week on he east side of Ten Mile Range in Summit County.

"'We’ve been finding a few things that are worth watching as the snowpack builds," said Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecaster Scott Toepfer.

A recent snowfall did not bond well with the snow surface from a late-September storm, creating ripe conditions for avalanches.

The center usually begins issuing regular avalanche forecasts in November.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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