{"id":165,"date":"2026-05-10T22:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T22:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=165"},"modified":"2026-05-10T22:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T22:04:08","slug":"decembers-power-outage-still-haunts-this-boulder-resident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=165","title":{"rendered":"December\u2019s power outage still haunts this Boulder resident"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Carolyn Mills sat on the couch in her home in the Boulder Meadows Mobile Home Park.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same house that she and her husband, Larry, settled in nearly 50 years ago and raised a family in. Nothing has changed since then except that the trees have grown, she said. She now lives there with her snow-white cat, Bella Sophia Rosa.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same home that the widowed Mills thought she\u2019d die in during a ferocious windstorm and subsequent power outage in December.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got so frightened, and I couldn\u2019t get the fear under control,\u201d Mills told the Daily Camera as the sun from her window illuminated her amber hair.<\/p>\n

That storm triggered a deep, dark fear that she had when she had contracted West Nile Virus in the early 2000s. At the time, Mills recalled, there were parts of her mind that were \u201cblacker than the pitchest black.\u201d Mills eventually learned how to manage those triggers, she said.<\/p>\n

Mills, who turned 83 on Tuesday, is battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an incurable and progressive lung disease. Mills uses a portable, battery-powered oxygen machine to help her breathe. She has two separate batteries for the machine, which resembles a small suitcase, each with a life of around four hours.<\/p>\n

She was unable to charge them when she spent about 24 hours without power from Dec. 17 to midday Dec. 18.<\/p>\n

That night without power threw her back into that dark space. She and Bella Sophia Rosa lay in bed under the covers. Mills called it the most terrifying night of her life.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe cat was just hanging onto me, and I just kept getting more and more frightened, and finally my breathing was. \u2026\u201d Mills paused, then simulated gasping noises. \u201cI couldn\u2019t get enough air in to supplement the oxygen that I was using, no matter what. I just thought, \u2018If this keeps up much longer, I truly will die.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Mills still has a landline phone, and she doesn\u2019t have internet access. So, no email. Additionally, some of her neighbors left for Denver to get relief from the outages. That made it nearly impossible for her to receive updates on when her power would be restored.<\/p>\n

All of that exacerbated the impact of what Mills and other Boulder residents called insufficient communications from Xcel Energy during its public safety power shutoffs, which, at its worst point, left more than 22,000 Boulder County customers without power.\u00a0That sparked calls for reform in Xcel\u2019s practices from Boulder city officials and customers and prompted Colorado Public Utilities Commission staffers to draft new rules for the shutoffs. Those new rules are expected to be drafted by the end of the year, PUC spokesperson Megan Castle said.<\/p>\n

Mills had intermittent power through that December weekend, and she was able to charge her oxygen for a bit, and to use the refrigerator to keep her medication cool.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

A friend of Mills\u2019 presented her story to the PUC during a virtual January hearing on the shutoffs. The PUC has a webpage on which people can take a survey about the public safety power shutoffs and share how the outages impacted them.<\/p>\n

To its credit, Mills said, Xcel has been helpful and communicative in the power outages since December. Xcel staffers told her they\u2019re doing the best they can, and she believes them. She has lost power intermittently during the storms and shutoffs since, but not to the same degree, she said.<\/p>\n

How people in vulnerable communities can prepare<\/h4>\n

Craig Towler is the director of public policy and advocacy for the Boulder-based Center for People With Disabilities. It\u2019s a center for independent living, or CIL, that serves people with disabilities in Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin, Weld, Jefferson and Adams counties.<\/p>\n

He said that, leading up to the December shutoffs and windstorm, the organization educated people with disabilities on how to prepare go bags, access transportation and have a communication plan during an emergency.<\/p>\n

The center also helped people apply for emergency assistance programs. Staff also helped develop custom emergency plans for people with electronic medical devices and refrigerated medications.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond the immediate risks, shutoffs also highlight broader systemic issues, such as gaps in accessible communication, emergency planning, and infrastructure, that historically (have) disproportionately impacted people with disabilities,\u201d Towler stated in an email to the Daily Camera.<\/p>\n

Read more After two years of struggle, lawmakers are poised to rewrite \u2014 and scale back \u2014 Colorado\u2019s AI regulations<\/a><\/p>\n

To Towler, preparation is key for people in vulnerable communities ahead of a public safety power shutoff. He laid out eight important steps people and their loved ones can take:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Create a personal emergency plan that includes backup options for power, transportation and communication.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Register for alerts and notifications for emergency alerts and advanced notice alerts of potential public safety power shutoffs.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Identify backup power sources for essential equipment. It\u2019s important to understand what your specific life-sustaining power needs are so you can plan accordingly.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Keep important contact information readily available, including family contacts, healthcare information and emergency contacts<\/p>\n

\u2022 Build a support network of neighbors, family or friends who can check in during outages.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Maintain an emergency kit with essentials such as medications, water, non-perishable food, a portable phone charger and flashlights.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Stay informed through multiple channels \u2014 not only one\u2019s city or county, but also alerts from CILs and other services that provide real-time and accessible notifications. This might include radio stations such as Aftersight that provide information for people who are blind, registering for BOCO Alerts, or apps such as EverBridge.<\/p>\n

Towler also recommended that people reach out to the Center for People With Disabilities if they or a loved one has a disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can help create personalized preparedness plans based on your needs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Her home<\/h4>\n

Mills has been through hell and back with her north Boulder home, and she\u2019s not ready to give it up.<\/p>\n

She moved to Boulder as a senior in high school in the early 1960s. Mills fell in love with the freedom she felt \u2014 the freedom to be herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just felt like I belonged here, and the mountains just called to me,\u201d she said. \u201cMy folks would let me take my little Willys Jeep all by myself, all packed with food and water, and go explore all day long.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never wanted to leave,\u201d Mills said.<\/p>\n

After a first marriage, Mills found solace, love and acceptance when she met Larry. Their landlady introduced the two and they connected. When she first hugged Larry, she thought, \u201d \u2018This is the man I dreamed of. This is home,\u2019 \u201d she recalled. \u201cAnd we were married within three months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mills feels better prepared for an abrupt outage. Her daughter, who lives in Longmont, has an oxygen concentrator that Mills can use. An oxygen concentrator essentially purifies a room\u2019s air so that people with breathing problems can get the oxygen they need. One of Mills\u2019 neighbors can also contact her daughter if Mills loses power.<\/p>\n

Sitting in her living room, Mills remembered her early days with Larry.<\/p>\n

They loved listening to records together \u2014 particularly the psychedelic soundscapes of early Pink Floyd and The Moody Blues. Larry died in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found my soulmate,\u201d she said of Larry. \u201cHe died here at the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mills later recalled, \u201cHe\u2019d look up at me, and a tear would trickle down his face, and he would say, \u2018Thank you so much for everything you\u2019ve done for me today.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

Read more Longmont could get direct RTD bus route to DIA under new state transit funding<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read more Pedestrian killed in crash with RTD train north of Denver<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An 83-year-old Boulder woman feels she nearly died when she lost power during December power outages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colorado-news","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDecember\u2019s power outage still haunts this Boulder resident - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=165\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"December\u2019s power outage still haunts this Boulder resident - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An 83-year-old Boulder woman feels she nearly died when she lost power during December power outages.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=165\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-10T22:04:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dadbd218549acce8287517063af8cdbe.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=165#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=165\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"December\u2019s power outage still haunts this Boulder resident\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-10T22:04:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=165\"},\"wordCount\":1292,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=165#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/dadbd218549acce8287517063af8cdbe.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Colorado News\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=165#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=165\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=165\",\"name\":\"December\u2019s power outage still haunts this Boulder resident - 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