Strong, damaging winds and growing fire danger across Colorado’s lower elevations may cause thousands to lose power Tuesday, whether through planned or unplanned outages.
One utility, Black Hills Energy, plans to proactively cut power to roughly 8,200 customers — including in southern Colorado — including near Colorado Springs and Pueblo — if high winds persist Tuesday, officials said in a news release.
The emergency public safety power shutoff would affect customers in parts of Crowley, Fremont, Otero and Pueblo counties, including the towns of Cripple Creek, Victor and Westcliffe, according to Black Hills Energy.
No customers had lost power as of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“Widespread critical fire weather conditions will prevail today from the base of the foothills eastward across the Eastern Plains,” National Weather Service forecasters stated in a hazardous weather outlook.
The weather service issued red flag warnings on Tuesday for the Interstate 25 corridor and the Eastern Plains. That includes parts of Larimer, Weld, Boulder, Jefferson, Broomfield, Douglas, Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Morgan, Logan, Sedgwick and Phillips counties.
Wind gusts up to 65 mph and relative humidity as low as 12% will be possible across Colorado’s lower elevations from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., forecasters said in the red flag warnings.
“While the high country is getting fresh powder, we’re dealing with dry fuels and wind that doesn’t quit,” South Metro Fire Rescue officials said on social media. “Translation: If it creates a flame, spark or even a ‘tiny little smolder,’ today is not the day.”
Areas east and south of metro Denver — including parts of Larimer, Weld, Morgan, Adams, Arapahoe, Elbert, Lincoln, Logan, Washington, Sedgwick and Phillips counties — will also be under a high wind warning until 5 p.m. Tuesday.
“Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines,” forecasters wrote in the wind warning. “Power outages are possible. Travel will be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles. Strong winds will likely lead to rapid fire growth of any new fire.”
A High Wind Warning is in effect Tuesday morning through late Tuesday afternoon for the northern and eastern plains. Strong winds up to 65 mph may cause power outages and make driving difficult for high profile vehicles. Make sure to secure lose objects tomorrow! #cowx pic.twitter.com/lSS34f4Ex2
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) February 17, 2026
As of Monday evening, Xcel Energy officials said they did not plan to implement public safety shutoffs. Still, the utility will activate its “enhanced powerline safety settings,” which make the lines more sensitive and de-energize the lines when issues are detected.
Unplanned outages from the wind are still possible, Xcel Energy officials said.
Core Electric Cooperative plans to implement similar safety protocols called “alternate relay settings” in its Bennett and Sedalia districts through Tuesday evening, according to the utility.
The “alternate relay settings” cut power “the instant there is a fault in the line,” such as a tree falling into the line, according to Core’s operational practices and wildfire mitigation plan.
Utility crews then patrol any powerless lines to find and correct the cause of the outage before restoring power, Core officials said. The safety settings do not allow the equipment to self-restore power, which can cause longer outages.
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