DENVER — A powerful line of thunderstorms that swept through the Front Range Saturday uprooted trees and knocked out power to thousands in the Denver metro area.
At least 12,000 people were still without power as of early Sunday afternoon as crews from Xcel Energy continue to work to restore outages. The storm impacted more than 208,000 Xcel customers in the state.
Crews worked through the night to restore the larger outages. Xcel said larger outages are restored first before crews move to smaller and individual outages. The company has brought in outside teams to help.
The downed trees that caused power outages also damaged cars, fences and homes throughout the Denver. The total extent of damage is not known.
One man was impaled by a branch protecting his daughter. His family said the branch missed his vital organs, but he's still in the hospital and is expected to recover.
The victim's mother told Denver7 she is thankful that he wasn't seriously hurt.
“He was impaled. A branch went in his back, exited his side,” said Debbie Nolan-Urlacher, standing in the street full of debris. "This is nothing. This can be carted away. The important thing is whatever demon came out of the sky, it didn't take my kids."
Winds also brought down a giant billboard on South Broadway, causing damage to an adjacent building and at least three vehicles.
Some municipalities are offering to help residents with clean-up efforts. Brighton will do curbside pick-up of tree limbs from June 10-12. This will be available to residents who live between 1st Avenue to 13th Avenue from Bromley Lane to 168th Avenue.
