Dear Editor,

We (a fifth-generation Coloradoan married to a long-term mountain dweller) are grateful to Xcel Energy for exercising the forethought, courage and intelligent decision-making to prevent catastrophic wildfires along the Front Range by shutting off power during recent hellacious windstorms.

Those of us who sheltered through the Cold Springs Fire of 2016 are always on edge, watching countless regional fires with trepidation as our climate warms up and dries out. De-energizing power lines amidst dangerous conditions has been a colossal relief to us and, we dare say, to the majority of the people who live in this area.

We appreciated Xcel’s advance-directed communications, professionally warning of likely widespread outages in advance of the winds. Receiving that messaging, we and our neighbors were prepared when the hammer came down.

Power shutdowns are a major inconvenience to us all. But inconvenience pales in comparison to loss of our homes, precious animal families, and human lives when wildfires explode.

These shutdowns are the real, true cost of burning fossil fuel and pumping our atmosphere full of carbon dioxide amidst more than 30 years of ignored scientific warnings that these things were coming down the tracks. We’re truly sorry that it’s come to this, but this is the new reality of living in the Mountain West.

Thank you, Xcel, for facing reality and not sticking your corporate head in the sand.

With gratitude,

Frank Sanders and Denise Boehler

Tungsten Valley