Tens of thousands of Coloradans had no electricity Friday morning as utilities took more precautions, deliberately shutting off power to 69,000 households, as weather forecasters anticipated wind gusts at speeds up to 100 miles per hour in the foothills west of metro Denver.
The National Weather Service issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation red flag warning” for Friday due to exceptionally high winds and low relative humidity, around 8 to 20% — prime conditions for the quick spread of fire. Dangerous conditions are expected to persist through Saturday morning under sunny blue skies, with temperatures approaching record highs for this time of year, weather forecasters said.
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/KGYR0SdtGl— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 19, 2025
Before sunrise on Friday, Xcel Energy implemented its latest planned “public safety power shutoffs” affecting about 69,000 households in Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld counties, company officials announced. High winds will likely also cause unplanned outages, Xcel officials said in a statement.
The weather and fire risk conditions on Friday “will match or exceed Wednesday’s conditions, which included wind gusts over 100 miles per hour,” Xcel’s statement said.
Housholds in areas where power lines run underground, or where residents don’t see damage, may still be affected by planned outages – and unplanned outages- because the power in their areas connects to a larger grid.
For the households hit with planned outages on Wednesday, more than 90% had their power restored, utility officials said.
“Restoring power will begin after Friday’s severe weather event and conditions are safe for crews to begin working. This effort could take up to several days to complete. Crews must inspect power lines and repair damage before they can be safely re-energized.”
Utility crews around metro Denver were working to repair damage and restore power.