Storm Leaves Thousand of Grand Junction Residents Without Power

Thousands of Grand Junction residents are without electrical power, hours after an October storm hit the Grand Valley.

The heavy, wet snow that fell on Grand Junction Sunday has caused numerous tree limbs to break and the result has been multiple power outages across town.

One XCEL energy customer this morning reported her power had been out since 4:30 Sunday afternoon. Another Facebooker reported this morning he had been without power for 17 hours, calling it "an Xcel Energy, power outage record" in the 19 years he's lived in Grand Junction.

As of 11:30 Monday morning, EXCEL was reporting 86 outage orders affecting more than 3300 customers. Outages seemed to be scattered throughout the Grand Junction area and not isolated to one general location. One customer says they were told by XCEL the company was still in the process of assessing the damage and gave no estimate as to when power would be restored.

Those of us who did not lose power are the lucky ones and should feel blessed. The next time it could be us. Electricity is one commodity we tend to take for granted, and we are reminded during this time that we could be without it at any time. This is a good time to take a few moments and get prepared for the "next time" should it occur.

XCEL Energy recommends everyone have a power outage preparedness kit that could help you weather a temporary outage.

• Battery-powered radio or television
• Flashlights
• Batteries
• Portable charger
• A phone that does not require electricity
• Non-electric alarm clock
• Bottled water and non-perishable food
• Manual can opener
• First aid kit

Some other things that would be good to have on hand would be extra blankets, candles, and matches. We haven't even gotten to winter yet, so there is plenty of potential for a lot more Grand Valley storms.