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Updates: Thousands Affected By Power Outage Following Snowfall

Updated at 2:45 p.m. Power has been restored to the 21,000 Holy Cross Energy members. It took roughly three hours for everyone to get their service back. HCE spokeswoman Jenna Weatherred says the company's continuous loop system usually provides a failsafe. 

"We ran into trouble on that backup loop as well, so that kind of compounded the problem," she said.

Weatherred says early-season power outages are not unusual, when heavy, wet snow causes problems on above ground power lines.

“We always have one or two heavy outages in early November and one or two at the end of the season,” she said.

 
Updated at 12:30 p.m. Xcel crews are currently patrolling their transmission line between Carbondale and Basalt. Once this line has been determined safe, Holy Cross will begin re-energizing the line from Carbondale, on to Basalt and then into Aspen. Officials expect the power to be back on for everyone in the outage area in the next three to four hours.

Roughly 21,000 Holy Cross Energy members throughout the Roaring Fork Valley are without power Monday. Xcel Energy has lost the transmission feed to the valley, which supplies HCE’s power supply. At this time there is no ETA for restoration. Both HCE and Xcel crews are on the scene and actively working to restore power.

The power went out around 9:30 a.m. Monday. Pitkin County officials are warning that traffic lights are not functioning properly on Hwy 82 and drivers should treat them as four-way stops. People are asked to not call 911 or the non-emergency dispatch number to report the outage. The latest information about the outage is here.

Ariel was the News Director for Aspen Public Radio from 2020 - 2021.
Alex is KUNC's reporter covering the Colorado River Basin. He spent two years at Aspen Public Radio, mainly reporting on the resort economy, the environment and the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, he covered the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery for KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska.