SAN MIGUEL, Colo. — An avalanche that buried power infrastructure on Wednesday knocked out power in the Town of Ophir.
Around 3:33 p.m. Wednesday, the San Miguel Power Association (SMPA) said power to the town core of Ophir was restored. A few services were still out into Thursday morning.
The SMPA first announced the power outage on Facebook around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. Within the half hour, it said that an avalanche had buried the power delivery infrastructure that serves the historic mining town, which has a population of "180 humans and 51 dogs," as listed on its website.
SMPA crews are working to dig out the power system. The San Miguel County Road and Bridge Department and the sheriff's office are both assisting.
It's not yet clear if the system was damaged by the avalanche.
Highway 145, which runs through the San Juan Mountains, is closed from County Road 54.6 just north of Rico up to County Road 63A, just south of Ames. The San Miguel Sheriff's Office said Ophir Road will likely stay closed until midday Thursday.
The power association estimated that full power would be restored sometime on Thursday due to the avalanche danger.
Residents were asked to shelter in place. Anybody en route to Ophir was asked to make arrangements to stay elsewhere for the night.
San Miguel Power Association recommends that residents sign up for the county's wireless emergency notification and CodeRED systems. This is one of the best ways to learn about major power outages and other emergencies. Click here to sign up for these alerts.
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, avalanche danger on Wednesday is rated as "considerable" — or 3 out of 5 on the danger scale.
The CAIC said persistent weak layers are deep under the snowpack across southwest Colorado. This is most worrisome near Silverton, Animas Forks, Telluride and Red Mountain Pass. Natural avalanches ran just ahead of this storm, CAIC said, including the one below in Ophir on Jan. 12.
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