Apr 20, 2009 4:44 pm US/Mountain
Thousands Still Without Power In Evergreen
By Katie Oyan, AP Writer
DENVER (CBS4) ―
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YouReporter Janice Lizzi wrote, "This is looking down the valley towards Pine."
Janice Lizzi/YouReport
A spring storm was weakening after dumping up to 3 feet of snow on the foothills west of Denver -- stranding hundreds of people in shelters and forcing the closure of an 80-mile stretch of Interstate 70.
Transportation officials shut down I-70 between Vail and Golden in the late afternoon Friday because of wet, heavy snow and multiple accidents.
The American Red Cross opened a second shelter in Idaho Springs late Friday after its first shelter there filled to capacity with more than 300 people, said Jim Rettew, a spokesman for the organization's Mile High Chapter.
The stranded travelers didn't all get cots, but many got snacks, and most were in good spirits, he said.
"Some are trying to sleep, some are talking, some are eating, some are on the phone," Rettew said. "When this kind of thing happens, everyone just makes the best in trying circumstances."
The Colorado National Guard escorted a caravan of volunteers and supplies to the shelters after Clear Creek County declared an emergency and asked for state assistance. County officials were working to set up one or two more shelters in Georgetown.
It was unclear when the interstate would reopen. The spring storm had dumped up to 3 feet of snow on the foothills by Friday night but was starting to weaken, forecasters said.
The area was expected to see only another 2 to 5 inches through noon Saturday, said meteorologist Frank Cooper of the National Weather Service's Boulder office.
"It's very, very hard to speculate as to when traffic is going to be allowed back on the road," Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman Fritz Homann said early Saturday. "There seems to be lull in the storm, but whether the second wave comes in as advertised will be anybody's guess."
Homann added that some motorists were still stuck on I-70 at Hidden Valley early Saturday, but crews were working hard to get them out.
"This is a big storm, but it is a spring storm in the Colorado Rockies, and that is something that CDOT has dealt with before," he said. "We have all our resources poised and ready to go."
Winter storm warnings across the state were expected to last until midday Saturday, with an additional 1 to 3 inches possible in the metro area and along the Front Range, the weather service said.
On Friday, heavy, wet snow closed highways, canceled flights, caused power outages and forced school closures in parts of Colorado and Wyoming. Snow accumulations of 3 to 4 feet were recorded in the mountains, with 4 to 6 inches measured in Denver.
Numerous traffic crashes were reported across Colorado, but Trooper Gilbert Mares of the State Patrol said he knew of only one fatality. He said a person was killed late Friday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash on Colorado 52 in Weld County, near Fort Lupton. Details on the victim were not immediately available.
U.S. 40 over Berthoud Pass, the main road to the Winter Park ski resort, was shut down Friday evening because of a pair of avalanches. Two vehicles and a snow plow got stuck in the second avalanche, but no injuries were reported, said Stacey Stegman, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation. Snow from the slide was about 2 feet deep.
The other avalanche left about 6 to 8 feet of snow on the pass, but no cars were on the road at the time, she said. The agency said Berthoud Pass and Vail Pass would remain closed overnight.
Power lines weighed down by snow tripped system circuit breakers and knocked out electricity to 9,600 Xcel Energy customers in Evergreen and 4,600 people in Nederland, 25 miles west and 35 miles northwest of Denver, respectively, said Joe Fuentes, a spokesman for the utility. Some of those customers were expected to be without power overnight, but crews were working around the clock, he said.
About 2,600 customers also lost power in Denver.
As of 4:45 p.m. on Monday, Xcel Energy said power is still out for 2,500
in Evergreen. IREA said they were also working on restoring power to an additional 700 to 800 customers in Evergreen. Power to everyone in Denver and Boulder has been restored.
Nearly 3 feet of snow had fallen by Friday afternoon in Rocky Mountain National Park about 60 miles northwest of Denver, forcing officials to close its Beaver Meadows and Fall River entrances because snowplows couldn't keep up.
Many suburban Denver schools sent students home early Friday, and at least three Colorado Springs-area high schools delayed weekend proms because of the storm.
The University of Northern Colorado in Greeley moved its football scrimmage to Tuesday because of snow, while Colorado State University canceled its Saturday spring game.
United Airlines, the dominant carrier at Denver International Airport, canceled 76 flights. The airport urged travelers to check with their airlines before leaving home. A spring storm last month stranded hundreds of passengers overnight.
CBS4 staff contributed to this report.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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