The National Weather Service warned of critical fire conditions Friday morning as wind gusts battered Colorado mountain foothills west of metro Denver and other northern Front Range cities, causing more than 100,000 homes and businesses to lose power Friday morning.
Federal meteorologists issued an unusual “particularly dangerous situation red flag warning” covering the foothills on Friday, anticipating wind gusts at speeds up to 100 miles per hour.
PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION Fire Weather
We rarely issue these Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warnings regarding potential for rapid wildfire spread in and immediately adjacent to the Boulder/Jefferson County foothills. Be ready to take swift action. #COwx pic.twitter.com/ckylzJAVxQ— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 19, 2025
Metro Denver temperatures shortly before sunrise hit 54 degrees under partly cloudy skies. High temperatures Friday were expected to reach a record 71 degrees.
A weather service high wind warning covered mountains and foothills along the Front Range from Castle Rock to Fort Collins. A red flag fire warning covered Colorado Front Range cities from the Wyoming border to Pueblo and included Cañon City.
Weather service forecasters observed “very high winds combined with an extremely dry airmass and near record temperatures,” according to their morning bulletin. “The highest threat for these conditions will exist in the foothills of Boulder and northern Jefferson Counties, and down to 5500 feet elevation immediately next to those foothills,” forecasters wrote.
“Outside of that, the wind speeds will likely be lighter, or there will be more uncertainty as to whether the strong, gusty winds develop.”
Front Range residents should “be ready to take swift action” due to critical fire conditions along the Interstate 25 corridor, forecasters said.
For Saturday, they estimated a high temperature of 58 degrees in metro Denver with a slight chance of rain late Saturday. Forecasters anticipated mostly sunny skies through the weekend.