Xcel Energy can’t point to just one reason for a wave of recent power outages in Silverthorne.
The utility points to three.
More than 2,600 homes were in the dark around 6:30 a.m. today when a critter got into a power line. Crews repaired the issue, and everyone had power again within two hours.
Most of those same homes lost power Wednesday afternoon when a customer meter went on the fritz, briefly cutting juice. Earlier that day, faulty equipment was to blame.
On Monday, the same area lost power for five hours – the longest outage of the week – including the Silverthorne Recreation Center. Xcel says that outage was a mystery. Crews patrolled the lines and found no obvious culprit.
Summit County’s elected officials are in the dark.
County commissioner Nina Waters says she is “learning along with everyone else” and declined to comment about three outages in 24 hours in her hometown of Silverthorne.
The frequency and timing have some locals wondering if these outages are tied to wildfires burning in the Front Range foothills.
Not true, according to Xcel.
“Due to the high wildfire threat in the region at this time, we are taking extreme care to visually inspect our lines to ensure these incidents do not create a wildfire risk or ignition,” Xcel said in a statement. “Those inspections may make these outages longer, but it provides the necessary confirmation that we are not putting the public’s safety at risk.”