Wind closes Boulder Valley schools for another day
As of Thursday afternoon, 13 schools in the Boulder Valley School District were still without power following the outage that started on Wednesday. The windstorm busted out several windows at Fairview High School in southern Boulder.
Around 5 p.m. Thursday, the district announced that after Thursday's closures, schools will be closed again Friday across the district.
Wind gusts that reached hurricane levels caused damage to 10 entryway windows at Fairview, disrupting students taking their finals inside.
"It's pretty scary. You know, if you're in school and your windows are rattling, it was definitely some tense moments there," said Randy Barber with the Boulder Valley School District. "When the windows broke, we pulled kids out of that area and, you know, kind of closed that specific section off."
Barber says other damage to their schools includes fallen limbs on playgrounds and fencing, and minor damage to roofs and HVAC units.
"There are a lot of impacts following the windstorm. We had more than half of our schools that had power out. And additionally, you know, with all the other impacts like traffic lights being out and that kind of thing, debris in the roads," said Barber.
Those impacts leading the district to close all schools Thursday -- it's the first time they've done so because of wind.
"Ever since the Marshall Fire, you know, we as a community have been very concerned about wildfire and the winds get pretty high here," said Barber. "It's never been driven to the place where we've had to look at an actual school closure."
They're not the only school community impacted.
Jefferson County closed more than two dozen schools Thursday, and Poudre closed three.
As districts across the Denver metro area decide whether or not to open Friday, Barber says it's a protocol they're preparing to use again.
"We'll be ready for the next time it comes around -- as early as tomorrow," said Barber.
With Boulder Valley School District announcing that school will be closed again on Friday, it means an early start to winter break for the students. Barber says that the finals that they were supposed to take on Thursday and Friday will be rescheduled for January after break.
