It’s Monday, April 8, 2024.
Howdy there, Boulder. It’s another Monday, though this one follows a very unique weekend.
Across Colorado for the first time, Xcel Energy preemptively turned power off for some 55,000 customers ahead of Saturday and Sunday’s wind, a majority here in Boulder County.
The purpose was to reduce fire risk, as the utility faces a deluge of lawsuits for allegedly sparking the Marshall Fire. Many are still without power, and not just the initial 55,000, but chunks of an additional 100,000 who lost power thanks to the severe winds. Confusion about power restoration pervaded the weekend. Even Foothills Hospital, keeping patients alive via generators, hadn’t been told when the lights were coming back on. All local government entities pointed the confused residents towards Xcel Energy that was slow to provide answers. Boulder Reporting Lab worked over the weekend to try to get you the answers we could. See below for the latest and here. Xcel’s map indicates 20,000 in Boulder County without power as of 6 a.m. today. BVSD canceled classes at six schools.
And stay tuned for updates to come and our ongoing reporting.
Related: We also have a story on the Community Foundation Boulder County and how it is spending the $43 million it raised after the Marshall Fire. With applications for its rebuild fund tapering off as more people get back into homes, but 30% of the fund remaining, the foundation is considering moving money into other areas of need and soliciting community feedback on where it should go. One fire survivor thinks in addition to all the work that has been done, more could be invested in addressing the community trauma brought by the fire. Plus, the latest on Boulder’s airport.
I hope your week starts well and you get back your power if you lost it. You can still see the eclipse, so long as you go outside.
— Tim, reporter
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Featured stories
Boulder County power outages: Xcel Energy says residents may not see power restored until Monday or later (Updated 6 a.m. on April 8)
Xcel’s wildfire safety outage ended Sunday afternoon, but 600 miles of lines needed inspection before power can be restored, the company said. Continue reading…
The Community Foundation Boulder County wants to have its wildfire fund paid out to Marshall Fire survivors by the end of this year
With around half of the 1,000 homes lost to the Marshall Fire expected to be rebuilt by summer, the foundation is looking to reallocate donated funds to meet the unmet needs of renters and other affected residents. Continue reading…
Housing advocates push for ballot measure to close the Boulder Municipal Airport
Residents are seeking a 2024 ballot measure to close Boulder’s airport, aiming to repurpose its land for housing. Continue reading…
ICYMI: Xcel Energy cuts power in Boulder County to combat wildfire risk amid forecast of dangerously high winds in unprecedented move
“The biggest message I would convey is that these are not the same conditions we saw leading up to the Marshall Fire,” said the county sheriff’s fire management officer. Continue reading…
Boulder Reporting Lab is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization that empowers our community through non-partisan, locally focused journalism that informs and connects.
In other news
Less wind
The weekend wind should have run its course by now, giving the few clouds that will show today a break from being blown about. With ample sun throughout the week and temps in the 60s and 70s, it’s fair to say that spring is here — the best time of year in Boulder, in my opinion.
Some critical information if you are still without power: Spoiled food and charging
Starting at 7 a.m. on Monday, Boulder County residents affected by power outages can bring their spoiled food to Western Disposal’s transfer site at 2051 63rd Street in Boulder for composting. Use non-glass containers for the spoiled food. If your spoiled food is in glass containers, transfer it to plastic bags or containers before recycling the glass separately in your curbside bin. If you can’t make it to the Western Disposal facility, dispose of the spoiled food in your standard garbage bin, the city is urging.
To avoid food waste, the Tandoori Grill began offering free meals at 5 p.m. on Sunday night. Other restaurants in Boulder are assumed to have faced significant resource losses, underscoring the impact on local business from the outage.
The Main Library along with the Reynolds Branch Library in Boulder are open and inviting residents to come in and charge their cell phones and crucial communication gadgets. The libraries will remain open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday.
Prolonged rural outages expected and car crashes
Vinny Montez, public information officer with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, said that rural areas in Boulder County, including mountain communities, could expect a prolonged restoration process.
Montez also said that that because of traffic lights without power, accidents and crashes happened on Sunday. “People aren’t paying attention and treating the traffic lights that are out, and that do not have power, as four-way stops,” Montez said. If a light is out, you’re supposed to act like every side has a stop sign. “Reckless behavior has led to multiple accidents and poses a significant threat to the safety of our community,” the county said in a separate press release.
Due to the county’s dispatch centers being overwhelmed by phone calls with power questions, the Office of Disaster Management opened up a call center. The number is 303-413-7730. But Montez also said that “if you have questions about Xcel, that’s something to direct towards Xcel.”
Meetings on potential bike path to Lyons
Boulder County’s Community Planning and Permitting Department is hosting public meetings on April 16 and 30 to discuss the possibility of a North Foothills Bikeway. At this point, the county is trying to understand if a bikeway is even possible through a feasibility study. The idea would be to create a separated path along US 36/North Foothills Highway for the 11 miles from Boulder to Lyons. That stretch of road is notoriously dangerous for cyclists, as many travel on the shoulder to the popular Lefthand Canyon or all the way to Lyons alongside cars traveling upwards of 60 mph. The road has more cyclist-involved crashes than any other in unincorporated Boulder County, with the most common accident being a car rear-ending a bike.
The virtual meeting on April 16 at 6 p.m. requires registration. An in-person session will be held on April 30 at Lyons Public Library. Discussions will include potential designs and feedback opportunities. If you miss the meetings, they will be recorded. The feasibility study is set to be done by June of this year.
ZBassSpeaks extends tenure as Lafayette Poet Laureate
The Lafayette Cultural Arts Commission reaffirmed ZBassSpeaks, also known as Z, as the city’s poet laureate for 2024 to 2026, marking their second term. Esteemed for their unique blend of Shakespearean, philosophical and hip-hop influences rooted in Mayan tradition, Z has been writing poetry since age nine.
The Lafayette Poet Laureate program, supported by the Arts & Cultural Resources with a $2,500 stipend per term, underscores Lafayette’s commitment to poetry as a means of community enrichment and engagement, according to the city.
Lafayette Paktik
Cotton wood leaves set a sway.
Hammocking the birds as waves follow the wind path.
A distorted reflection of the sun’s curtains, comprised of conglomerated sandstone.
Here the red tailed feathers mix with the shadows of blue that fall from the sky.
As the Earth breathes vividly. To set your hands upon the dirt, is to witness the roots of an archived era long since past.Aquí se encuentra el hogar de los espíritus de luz.
2024 Poem for Lafayette by ZBassSpeaks
Las ofrendas de agua será la misma de este época.
La pintura sera para las criaturas dando el belleza de este valle.
Y a ellos quein buscan, encontrarán tesoro en un océano de arena.
Much of the Colorado River water going to cows, verified again
A new study, published at the end of last month, revealed the most detailed accounting of where the Colorado River’s water is going. Previous studies have covered the same ground, though not in as much detail. Some is going to riparian landscapes and wetlands, and some is evaporating. But much of it is being used by humans, and most of that is being used on cows.
“Cattle feed crops including alfalfa and other grass hays account for 46% of all direct water consumption,” the study says.
This comes as states like Arizona and California struggle to find ways to cut back on use of the overtaxed river. It also comes as much of the Front Range gets an increasing percentage of its drinking water from the river. Water rate increases faced by Boulder County residents are often going to either securing more water rights from the Colorado River, or to building additional reservoir capacity to store that water.
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