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Steamboat Springs — Strong winds tore through the Yampa Valley on Thursday afternoon, uprooting trees and knocking out power.

Hayden Town Manager Russ Martin said two large trees fell in Hayden, including a 60-foot tree that fell onto Washington Street. Crews were able to break the trees up and move them from the roadway relatively quickly. No other damages were reported, he said.

"We had a pretty good gust," he said. "We were very fortunate that no one was injured."

Jim Daniels, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Grand Junction office, said microbursts between 45 and 50 mph were reported throughout Routt County.

"These gusts are associated with a cold front that has moved very quickly across the Western Slope," he said. "It probably brought a few isolated thunderstorms with it, conducive to these types of winds."

Daniels said the storm wasn't going to leave much snow in its wake despite the dark clouds that accompanied the winds.

"You probably won't even see an inch of accumulation if it does snow," he said. "It isn't a very moist system, and it moved through pretty quickly."

Jim Chappel, a Yampa Valley Electric Association spokesman, said crews were spread thin Thursday afternoon as they worked to restore power in North and South Routt counties, parts of Steamboat Springs, Hayden and Rabbit Ears Pass.

"When the wind hit, we started getting calls about 10 to 15 minutes later that power was out," he said.

All the power outages were attributed to the wind except for the power outage in Steamboat Springs, which most likely was due to a construction company digging up an underline power line near Village Drive and Apres Ski Way.

Eric Berry, a volunteer with the Yampa Fire Protection District, said a large tree fell onto the power lines between Yampa and Phippsburg on Colorado Highway 131, but "blew itself off" while crews were there.

"That tree had the line sparking for awhile but it took care of itself," he said.

Berry, who was in Oak Creek when the storm first rolled in, said driving south on Colorado Highway 131 was difficult because of the strong winds.

"It was pushing me pretty hard," he said.

- To reach Alexis DeLaCruz, call 871-4234

or e-mail adelacruz@steamboatpilot.com