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Christmas Wind: Sounded Like 'Freight Train,' 'Hurricane'

By Kelly Werthmann

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Instead of a white Christmas it was a windy one for much of the state, especially in Boulder County.

"Christmas really blew this year," Erik Boa, who lives in Eldorado Springs, said Monday.

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According to Xcel Energy's spokesperson, about 50,000 homes from Douglas County to Boulder lost power in the Christmas Day storm. Winds reached close to 100 miles per hour in some spots in foothills, knocking down power lines and trees.

"It sounded like a freight train or even a hurricane," Robert Decuers, a resident of an Eldorado Springs trailer home park, told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann.

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Decuers said he was on the phone with the local sheriff's office reporting a power outage when he heard the whipping winds outside his window.

"I stepped outside just in time to catch the tree fall onto my neighbor's car and it crushed the car," Decuers said. "The tree hit the telephone pole and snapped it in two. It fell and it just barely missed my neighbor's brand new home."

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Monday afternoon half the homes in Decuers' neighborhood still didn't have power. Xcel crews were making repairs to downed power lines as the massive fallen tree was cut down and cleared away. The loss of power also meant the neighborhood didn't have heat or water.

"Our water runs on power, so without power we have no water," Decuers said. "If it freezes, then everything freezes, so we need to get this thing going today."

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Xcel's spokesperson said operations should be back to normal around 6 p.m. Monday for the approximate 2,500 homes still without power.

"It's an experience I hope no one else has to go through," Boa said.

Kelly Werthmann joined the CBS4 team in 2012 as the morning reporter, covering national stories like the Aurora Theater Shooting and devastating Colorado wildfires. She now anchors CBS4 Weekend Morning News and reports during the week. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @KellyCBS4.

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