DENVER — A powerful windstorm Saturday into Sunday downed trees, damaged homes and caused widespread power outages across the Denver metro area and the Front Range.
Overnight wind gusts Saturday night into Sunday topped out as high as 96 mph in some localized areas, and the wind continued through Sunday morning. The worst was over for most areas by noon.
There were High Wind Warnings, High Wind Watches and Wind Advisories in effect across parts of Colorado, as well as a Winter Storm Watch issued for portions of Colorado's mountains.
Around 8 a.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service in Boulder canceled the High Wind Warning for the immediate Denver metro area. However, a High Wind Warning was still in effect in the foothills areas. Red Flag Warnings were also issued.
Power outages
In an effort to prevent wildfires, Xcel Energy preemptively shut off power to about 55,000 customers. The shutoffs began around 3 p.m. Saturday and continued into Sunday. About 100,000 more customers lost power due to the wind.
Homes, trees damaged
West Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson Ronda Scholting said that since 2:45 p.m. Saturday, crews had responded to more than 65 electrical emergency calls, including trees into powerlines, downed powerlines and sparking lines. That included about 10 calls for fires due to downed electrical lines.
There were three calls for trees into homes, Scholting said. In two cases, the tree came to a rest on the roof, and in one case the tree went through the roof.
Scholting also said there were about a dozen calls for people who were running low on oxygen or concerned they would run out.
Evergreen Fire said crews responded to at least 25 "electrical hazard" incidents caused by the wind, and said that branches and trees were "wreaking havoc" on the electrical grid.
In Littleton, South Metro Fire Rescue posted on social media about a tree that fell through the roof of a home. No one was hurt.
Travel impacts
In Jefferson County, the eastbound ramp from eastbound Interstate 70 to C-470 was closed after wind blew over a semi-truck Saturday night. A saddle tank on the truck ruptured, spilling diesel fuel.
A 9NEWS viewer driving south on Interstate 25 near Walsenburg Saturday shared photos of multiple semi-trucks that appeared to be blown over.
CSP said it received at least 10 reports of semis rolling over, but could not confirm they were caused by the wind. There were no serious injuries reported in any of the crashes.
There were some major road closures, as well. Northbound Interstate 25 was closed near the Wyoming state line, and eastbound Interstate 70 was closed at Vail.
The wind also impacted operations at Denver International Airport. As of 10 p.m. Saturday, more than 300 flights were delayed or canceled.
Fires sparked
In Denver, high winds fueled a fire that caused a partial collapse at the TAVA Waters Apartments on Mississippi Avenue Saturday. Residents of 12 units were displaced. Investigators are working to determine what caused the fire.
At least one fire was directly caused by a downed power line around the Boulder/Larimer county line, according to U.S. Forest Service officials. The agency first reported the Moose Fire just after 9:15 p.m. Saturday in the area of U.S. 36 and Big Meadows Road between Lyons and Estes Park near Pinewood Springs.
The fire was contained to less than one acre, USFS said. Pictures sent out by the Forest Service show a toppled pine tree across power and communication lines.
PHOTOS | Strong winds damage trees, blow over semi trucks across Colorado
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