Tens of thousands without power due to Xcel public safety shut off Wednesday amid high winds

Updated at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.

Xcel has shut down power today for 50,000 customers along the Front Range to reduce the risk of wildfire amid high winds and ultra-dry conditions.

The public safety power shutoff began at 10 a.m. and is affecting residents in Boulder, Clear Creek, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties. Denver County is not expected to be impacted.

The company expects extreme conditions to improve around 6 p.m. Wednesday, and officials said they will work to return power as soon as possible.

Much of the Front Range is under a red flag warning on Wednesday morning, with high winds forecast to gust as high as 85 mph. Xcel warns of the risk of downed power lines. The dry conditions and high winds are similar to conditions that sparked the Marshall Fire in 2021.

Many schools are closed today in anticipation of the shutoff, including Boulder, Clear Creek, Weld, and Jefferson county districts.

Molly Cruse/CPR News

In a morning announcement, Xcel officials said hundreds of power crew members were positioned along the Front Range, ready to restore power as soon as possible.

Customers are encouraged to report any damage they see to power lines, stay clear of downed lines, and if they are outside the shutdown area, to report any outages.

Xcel’s public safety shutoff today is part of the company’s updated Wildfire Mitigation Plan, which is meant to reduce the odds that the utility’s equipment will spark a major fire. 

As part of the plan, state regulators required Xcel to dramatically improve its coordination with state and local authorities when it decides to cut power, after a much-criticized shutoff occurred in April 2024.

Local impacts and comfort centers

Xcel is working with the Red Cross and Jefferson County to set up “comfort centers” with access to phone charging, power, water and snacks. They will be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Evergreen Library on County Highway 73 in Evergreen and Belmar Library on Allison Parkway in Lakewood. 

Company officials said outages could continue again on Friday beginning as early as 6 a.m., due to continued weather conditions and fire risk. In a press release Xcel warned that the storm on Friday could overlap with some communities impacted by Wednesday’s severe weather, and as a result some areas may be without power for more than three days.

While Denver is not expected to experience shutoffs, some RTD lines will be impacted. The W Line service between Federal Center Station and JeffCo Gov’t Center/Golden Station will be shutdown, and a bus shuttle will be used Wednesday. 

In a press release, the Regional Transit Authority added that lighting, ticket vending machines, and fare validators at the JeffCo Government Center/Golden Station will also be shut down, due to their location and the risk of substations being impacted by power outages caused by extreme wind. 

The RTD is also preparing for the possibility that four commuter rail crossings along the A Line may be impacted.

Black Hills Energy, a smaller power company operating in Southern Colorado, is also bracing for potential shutdowns Wednesday. In a press release, it said the company is not planning any public safety shutdowns but is closely monitoring weather conditions and will post updates on its website.

Colorado Springs Utilities is also monitoring conditions but has not announced shutdowns. The San Isabel Electric Association is also monitoring.

Multiple states have sued Xcel for destructive wildfires

The outages come at a time when Xcel is embroiled in multiple lawsuits over previous major wildfires, including the 2021 Marshall Fire and the 2024 Smokehouse Creek fire in Texas that killed three people. 

The company settled lawsuits over its alleged role in sparking the Marshall Fire out of court in September, agreeing to a roughly $640 million settlement with Colorado plaintiffs and insurance companies. 

The company has denied any wrongdoing for its role in the Marshall Fire. But it has conceded that its equipment appears “to have been involved” in igniting the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest wildfire in Texas history. 

On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Xcel over its role in the fire, and said in a press release that “Xcel’s blatant negligence killed three Texans and caused unfathomable destruction in the Texas Panhandle.”

Xcel has denied it acted negligently, though it has already paid out hundreds of millions in dollars in settlements and claims related to the fire. 

When officials were asked whether today’s public safety shutdowns were related to those cases, president of Xcel Colorado, Robert Kenney, responded, “Let me just unequivocally say no.”

Regarding the Texas lawsuit, Kenney stated, “We’re disappointed that that lawsuit has been filed and we intend to defend ourselves very vigorously. But what we’re doing today is unrelated to either the Marshall Fire or the Texas Attorney General’s lawsuit.”

What you can do if there’s an outage

• Make sure to gather portable chargers and ensure they — along with any of your electronic devices — are fully powered up ahead of time. 
• Make sure to have a battery-powered radio in order to receive alerts and safety information. The Internet and data are often jammed or inaccessible during power outages and emergencies.
• Charge any medical devices you might need in advance. 
• Make sure you’ve got backup light sources and first aid kits ready to go.
• Xcel also recommends setting your fridge and freezer to the coldest setting in advance. That will help keep food cold for up to 4 hours in the fridge and two days in the freezer if the power cuts out. 
• If the power does go out, make sure to turn off or unplug appliances that could surge when power returns.
• Practice opening your garage without the electronic motor so you can leave your house if needed.

Editor’s note: Ishan Thakore contributed reporting.

This article will be updated.