Denver neighborhoods navigate power outages in storm’s aftermath

DENVER — In the wake of the worst November snowstorm Denver has seen in 30 years, thousands are now dealing with the fallout from the massive snowfall that blanketed the region in inches to feet of wet, heavy snow, downing trees, damaging property, and leaving neighborhoods without power.

As of 3:08 p.m. Saturday, Xcel Energy’s outage map showed that 404 outages affected 16,289 customers.

In one central Denver neighborhood, the power cut out abruptly around 10:30 p.m. Friday night, leaving residents surrounded by an unusual silence and total darkness. For Jackie Barnabas, the sudden blackout underscored just how deeply the modern world relies on constant connectivity.

“I think I’m not used to just having to sit by myself in the dark,” Barnabas said with a laugh. “Once I sat by myself in the dark long enough, I fell asleep pretty quickly.”

The outage reached beyond homes, cutting power to the busy intersection of Colorado Boulevard and 6th Avenue, leaving the traffic lights out and turning the area into a dangerous free-for-all.

“We get accidents at this intersection all the time… and with the lights being out I can’t even imagine,” said Adrian Clark, who lives just a few houses down. “I really don’t even want to go out there, like it’s bad.”

Clark and Barnabas, who are neighbors, endured a frigid Friday night. Just as they began drifting off to sleep in the silent dark, an abrupt noise shattered the quiet.

“I heard a loud crunching sound, which I can only assume was the tree in our front yard, landing on our car,” Clark said.

The weight of the wet, heavy snow had been too much for the old tree outside Clark’s home. It buckled under the pressure, sending a thick branch crashing down onto the roof of his car.

“The size of the branch that fell — which was hundreds of pounds — took three of us to move today,” Clark said, describing how he and his wife struggled to clear the branch the following morning until Barnabas stepped in to help. 

Clark explained he’d contacted the city to request branch removal, only to learn city services were closed until Monday. Without Barnabas’ help, he said, moving the branch would’ve been impossible.

“I figured it was going to be a complete disaster,” Clark said. But as he inspected the damage, he found his car’s windshield, miraculously, still intact.

After a long, cold night, the neighbors received word from Xcel Energy that power might not return until 10 p.m. Saturday. Barnabas, already chilled and eager to get out of the cold, made plans to find warmth.

“I’ll probably come back home and take stuff and go to my mom’s house,” she said. “I know she has power, so I’ll go there and hang out with her.”

Clark, layered in four shirts and ready to face the cold, was likewise prepared to stay with family or friends nearby who had power. As he finished talking with 9NEWS and prepared to head back inside, a sudden surge lit up the block.

“The lights just came on!” Clark said with a relieved smile.

By 11:30 a.m., electricity had returned not only to Clark and Barnabas’ homes but also to the intersection at Colorado Boulevard and 6th Avenue, where the traffic lights resumed their usual work, restoring a bit of normalcy after the night’s disruptions.