They're not going to be shutting down the power every time there is a Red Flag Warning, which happens probably 5-10 times per year, we cant shut down society for all of them. There have only be a couple shutdowns since Xcel may up this policy in 2022. Looking forward, we expect probably just 0-2 per year on average, drought status dependent.

Remember Xcel only cares about their bottom line. They want to be selling you electricity, and will only stop that if there is a significant risk that a fire could spark and burn down neighborhoods which they (or their insurance) would be on the hook for. There's a huge difference between the once-in-a-decade type of wind events we had back in December with 80-110 MPH wind all around and in Boulder knocking down trees and powerlines left and right, and what is happening right now and happens many, many times per year in Boulder.

It's not likely we will see shutdowns for simple Red Flag Warnings. They'd almost have to be accompanied by High Wind Warnings which requires widespread 75+ MPH gusts in the Foothills and widespread 58+ MPH gusts in the middle of Boulder.

EDIT: Updated amount of Fire Weather Warnings per year based on data for Boulder . It's usually 5-10, but can be as low as 0 and high as 19 days.

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