As the threat of a significant snowstorm looms, the City of Boulder has announced the closure of all its facilities on Thursday, March 14.
“This action is being taken out of an abundance of caution and to focus our first responder resources on the most vulnerable,” the city said in a press release on Wednesday evening. “Public safety and critical weather employees will report for duty and are prepared to help keep our community safe during the storm.”
“If you do not have to travel or be outside, please consider staying home until the storm passes,” the city said.
Essential personnel, including public safety and critical weather employees, will remain on duty. Boulder County government offices will also be closed Thursday. All schools in the Boulder Valley School District will be closed tomorrow.
Earlier on Wednesday, the city told Boulder Reporting Lab it would not open a temporary 24-hour emergency warming center for people experiencing homelessness. The city’s largest shelter, the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless in North Boulder, will expand capacity and hours in response to the severe weather conditions. The shelter is typically closed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is set to increase its capacity to 180 people from 160, without turning anyone away through coordinated entry. This will start Wednesday night, March 13, and extend until Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. The shelter will remain open during daytime hours on Thursday, March 14.
The Boulder City Council meeting scheduled for Thursday evening will proceed as planned, albeit virtually due to ongoing renovations in council chambers, the city said. The Open Space Board of Trustees meeting and the minimum wage engagement event, both scheduled for tonight, March 13, are expected to proceed as planned without any alterations.
Not all events have been spared from the storm’s impact. The City-Tribal Nation event slated for Thursday has been canceled. Organizers have notified registered participants of the cancellation via email, the city said.