Powerful Colorado winds cause power outages and a coffee shortage

Hurricane-force winds along Colorado's Front Range brought down trees and power lines Tuesday, leading to trouble, including at least one fire.

Poudre Valley Power REA said 5,000 customers lost power in its northwest area of service. Multiple crews were working in the Livermore, Rustic, and Red Feather Lakes areas to get things to get restored. Xcel Energy was working to repair the line west of Boulder, where more than a thousand customers were without power. In Gilpin and Clear Creek counties, 1,700 customers were without electricity.

"We've been chasing downed lines all day," said Idaho Springs Assistant Fire Chief Jeremy Jones, who expected to be doing much the same into Wednesday.

A line carrying cable signals got blown up into a power line behind the Starbucks on the east end of Idaho Springs in the morning, energizing the line, which came down on a parked pickup, starting it on fire.

"Power hit it, and the sparks burned everything," said Sun Kim, who owns the 6&40 Motel nearby.

He described the noise as a big boom like an explosion. The wind ripped away metal from his roof and caused damage. "It was a big wind. Almost kicked me off, too."

It also caused a power surge into the building housing the Starbucks, where damage was light, but enough to cause the coffee shop to shut down. Customers still showed up, only to be greeted by a sign saying it was closed due to the power problem.

"Yeah, looking for some Starbucks," a visitor from Delaware en route to Breckenridge said.

The effects were felt all through Idaho Springs, too.

The Fish and Loaves food pantry and kitchen normally serves lunch on Tuesdays and Fridays. But it had a sign up saying, "Closed due to unstable power."

The Clear Creek Laundromat on the west side of town shut down for hours. Owner Debbie Rutzebeck felt trouble coming in the morning as the wind roared outside.

"We kept getting these flickers, and I live a couple of blocks away. And at that point I knew it's just a matter of time until it goes." There isn't much a business like a laundromat can do when losing electricity.

"If they're in the dryer, it quits drying, and there's nothing to do until power comes back on."