Overview
- Xcel Energy will shut off power to about 9,000 customers in Weld and Larimer Counties starting Friday at 8 a.m. to reduce wildfire risk.
- Five schools in those counties will close Friday because of the planned outages.
- The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag and High Wind Warnings for parts of northeastern Colorado, with peak gusts projected to reach 60–70+ mph.
- Very dry air is expected, with humidity dropping into the low teens and conditions favorable for rapid fire spread.
- Temperatures will fall into the 30s and 40s Friday, with a brief warmup Sunday before another front arrives around Martin Luther King Jr. Day.