DENVER – High winds across Colorado’s High Country and mountains shuttered at least one ski area and closed government officers in Gilpin County Friday.
Gusts of up to 75-85 miles per hour were possible at elevations above 7,500 feet early Friday, and a high wind warning is in effect for much of the mountains and some of the Front Range foothills through 3 p.m. Friday.
Eldora Mountain Resort closed for the day Friday because of the hazardous high winds, while all Gilpin County offices were closed because of power outages.
At one point Friday morning, around 8,000 people were without power, though that number had dropped to less than 100 by 11 a.m. The largest outage came from a downed tree in the Eldorado Canyon area southwest of Boulder, which took out power lines and five power poles, according to Xcel Energy.
Larimer County closed its landfill and residential recycling plant for several hours before it reopened around 1 p.m., and high-profile vehicles with light loads were ordered off I-70 in the mountain corridor due to the high crosswinds and blowing snow.
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