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(Bloomberg) — Xcel Energy switched off electricity for about 50,000 customers in Colorado Wednesday to lessen the risk that high winds will topple power lines and start fires.
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The utility also said it anticipates the need for a second round of shutoffs in the Rocky Mountain region staring Friday morning when high winds are forecast to return. Friday’s conditions may overlap with some areas that were impacted Wednesday, which could mean some homes and businesses would be without power for more than three days, Xcel said in a release.
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Nearly 109,000 homes and business were without service in Colorado as of 4:30 p.m. local time including for unplanned outages, according to PowerOutage.com.
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A period of dryness and near-record warm weather has created the potential for blazes. High-wind advisories and warnings are posted across a wide area of the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains and Great Plains, including Colorado’s front range, the National Weather Service said.
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Combined with parched conditions, the winds raise concerns “about significant fire weather conditions,” said Allison Santorelli, a forecaster with the US Weather Prediction Center. Red flag fire warnings are up across the area that may see hurricane-strength gust of up to 80 miles per hour in places.
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In what was once a California phenomenon, utilities across the US are more frequently deciding to turn off electricity to prevent downed power lines from sparking catastrophic wildfires that can expose them to large damage claims.
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—With assistance from Mark Chediak.
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(Updates to note shutoffs have started.)
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English (US)