A power outage at Golden West, an affordable housing complex for older adults, left 10 residents at risk of losing access to medical oxygen during December’s windstorms, city officials said Thursday.
That was one of several impacts Deputy City Manager Chris Meschuk highlighted in a briefing to the Boulder City Council about the Dec. 17 and Dec. 19 windstorms. Xcel Energy cut power to tens of thousands of customers during the storms to prevent downed power lines from sparking wildfires. High winds also damaged infrastructure and triggered additional unplanned outages.
Meschuk said Golden West lost power and its generator failed. In addition to issues with oxygen access, he said three residents were unable to reach their apartments on upper floors. Meschuk said the city helped secure battery backups for oxygen and temporary bedding, and that the Emergency Operations Center worked with Xcel Energy to restore power to Golden West.
Meschuk said about 60% of the community lost power during the storms. City officials logged roughly 300 damage incidents, including downed poles, missing roofs and broken windows, he said.
Boulder Fire-Rescue responded to more than twice its normal call volume, Meschuk said. This included stopping a structure fire between Euclid Avenue and Madison Avenue off 30th Street. Following a fire at the Boulder Meadows mobile home community, he said firefighters personally collected and donated $3,000 to help the displaced family.
At the height of the wind event, about 60 of the city’s most critical traffic signals were down, according to city officials. The city deployed about 27 generators to keep certain intersections operational.
Meschuk said both of the city’s water treatment facilities were operating on generators. However, unlike a power shutoff in April 2024, the city did not lose power to its wastewater treatment plant.
The city is working on an after-action report to prepare for future planned outages and plans to host a community town hall later this month, Meschuk said.
He said the city is collaborating with the Office of Disaster Management to set clearer expectations for Xcel and identify ways to improve planned power shutoffs. The city is also sharing its findings with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, which Meschuk said has begun a pre-rulemaking process.
I wondered about how people with medical conditions were faring. My husband couldn’t use his C-Pap, which was bad enough.
One of the many things that made me crazy in the 5 days of power outages: I kept getting important updates from Xcel via text with hyperlinks. Hello? With no power we had no internet, and without the cell booster no data service where we live. Figure out another way to get important info out during outages!
This outage was handled poorly to say the least.