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Downed lines from Colorado windstorm spark fires

The Moose Fire between Estes Park and Lyons shut down Highway 36 for a period Saturday night.

LYONS, Colo. — Fire crews around the Denver metro and Front Range were kept busy Saturday and into Sunday as a powerful windstorm swept across the region.

The winds snapped tree limbs, took down trees and knocked down power lines. At least one fire was directly caused by a downed line around the Boulder/Larimer county line, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.

The agency first reported the Moose Fire just after 9:15 p.m. Saturday in the area of U.S. 36 and Big Meadows Road between Lyons and Estes Park near Pinewood Springs.

The fire was contained to less than one acre, USFS said. Pictures sent out by the Forest Service show a toppled pine tree across power and communication lines.

Credit: USFS

Fire crews in the metro were also busy with downed trees. 

In Edgewater, 9NEWS anchor Jordan Chavez's home was damaged by a fire that started when a fallen limb pulled down the home's electric line in the backyard. No one was injured. 

Credit: West Metro Fire Rescue

Powerlines were de-energized due to winds causing an increased risk of wildfire in Boulder, Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer, Douglas and Broomfield counties, as well as the west Denver metro area along the foothills. Xcel Energy preemptively cut power to about 55,000 customers. 

RELATED: Power restoration could last into Monday or longer after more than 150,000 customers impacted by strong winds and Xcel power shutoffs

In the foothills around Evergreen, fire and rescue crews were busy checking out calls of snapped trees and power poles, and other electrical hazards. At one call in the 6600 block of Bluebell Lane, Evergreen Fire said re-energized power lines kindled a small fire that was quickly put out.

There was also a 50-foot by 50-foot smoldering fire reported along Dreher Drive after sparks flew from electric lines, Evergreen Fire said.

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