We lived in Larkspur, halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs, and the power outages were happening more often as time went by. Every snowfall seemed to come with predictions of more outages too.
I lived in the mountains between Golden and Boulder and to the west, just out of Boulder and Jefferson counties. I often commuted for work to the two AF bases in Colorado Springs so I know where Larkspur is....just south of Castle Rock.
That is why they arrange to shut down power every time there is a minor windstorm in front range Colorado.
My opinion is that the liability claims were entirely bogus, aimed at Xcel because they have deep pockets. It was very clear that the Marshall fire was started by arsonists, and this was observed by passing drivers on highway 93 at the time. The arsonists got away clean.
Well, lawyers gotta make those 30% contingency fees for winning a case against somebody. I wonder where the rest of the money went. I have friends in the area, whose homes were affected. They got nothing from the settlement. They got lots of stalling from their insurance companies.
This is why we cannot have nice things.