Tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 19, the city is proactively closing its public-facing facilities, except for the East Age Well Center, in advance of dangerously high wind conditions and Xcel Energy’s next proactive public safety power shutoffs in parts of the city, which can be viewed in a map shared by the company.
The East Age Well Center, at 5660 Sioux Drive in Boulder, will remain open from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. for the community to charge personal devices and medical equipment, unless the winds cause a power outage. No other services will be available at the center during this time.
Based on the forecast for even more severe and sustained winds than Wednesday, public safety officials are asking community members to stay home and off the roads, if possible, in an effort to support emergency operations and safety in our community. The city anticipates more debris in the roads, including downed limbs and power lines, and dozens of traffic signals may be out, either as a result of new power impacts or lingering outages from Wednesday.
City buildings will reopen as power is restored, but Xcel Energy has cautioned this could take up to a few days as crews will need to manually inspect the system to ensure there is no damage before turning power back on. It is important for community to understand that even parts of the city that are not in the shutoff area are likely to be impacted by tomorrow's wind event.
The entire city and county are under a Red Flag Warning. Extreme fire caution will be necessary. Community members should remain alert and be prepared.
The city and county Emergency Operations Center continues to be activated. Be sure you are signed up to receive urgent emergency alerts from police or fire officials at www.bocoalert.org. Additional helpful public safety information is available on the Office of Disaster Management’s website. You can also sign up to receive this information on your phone by texting BOCOINFO to 888777.
If you wish to receive alerts and safety information in a language other than English, please download the Reachwell app on your phone. You will have an option to select the language that works best for you.
The following are some general safety tips:
There will be no open burning permitted; this includes agricultural burning.
Do not burn anything outdoors or conduct spark-producing activities.
If you must travel, treat any intersection without powered traffic lights as a four-way stop and assume any downed power lines are energized.
Follow public health guidance on food safety for any food that is stored in a shutoff area.
Stay away from damaged lines, trees, and equipment.
Report hazards through 911 if there is immediate danger. Only use 911 for emergencies; contact the call center tomorrow for other questions. Call center hours will be posted on www.boulderodm.gov. The number is 303-413-7730.
Have an evacuation plan ready – know what modes of transportation you could take, have them fueled/powered up, know your routes, and what essential or irreplaceable items you would need to take with you.
If you typically keep your vehicle in a garage, make sure you know how to open your garage when the power is out (red pull tab, then you must be able to manually open the door), or consider parking your vehicle outside.
