AURORA | Denver’s airport was closed for a second day Monday after a powerful late winter snowstorm dumped some 3 feet of snow on parts of Colorado and Wyoming, shutting down roads, canceling school and closing state legislatures in both states.
In Aurora, first responders have continued to rescue motorists whose vehicles were buried in powder Sunday. Tow trucks have also been deployed across the city to begin removing vehicles that were stuck and abandoned during the storm. Residents who believe their car may have been towed are encouraged to call 303-326-860 to verify their ownership, pay a $75 fee and recover their vehicle.
Aurora Fire officials provided shelter at two different fire houses to more than a dozen residents who found themselves in the cold during the historic blizzard. One fire apparatus became stuck on a local roadway during the thick of the storm Sunday.
Police also used a military-grade, bomb-proof vehicle to rescue and transport a number of people stranded in the snow.
Aurorans with city business will have to wait until Tuesday. Most city buildings are expected to reopen Tuesday morning. That includes libraries, APD headquarters and the municipal court.
Less-than-highly-motivated Aurorans will have some more time this week to shovel the concrete-heavy snow off the sidewalks in front of their property before facing a fine, according to a city spokesperson.
City Manager Jim Twombly declared the historic blizzard of 2021 an official emergency over the weekend. That means that you have 48 hours, not the standard 24, to clear snow off your sidewalk for your neighbors.
Specifically, you have until 3 a.m.Tuesday morning to do the deed.
Those Aurorans unfamiliar with a snow shovel can face fines after that deadline. It’s $25 for single-family homes and $50 for all other types of buildings. Hard-line Code Enforcement officers might issue another fine within 24 hours if the sidewalk still isn’t clear and charge residents more if the city has to hire a contractor to get the job done.
Ryan Luby, a city spokesperson, said the rule is most often enforced when someone makes a complaint about their neighbors online via Access Aurora.
Closures abounded on Monday. State district courts in both Adams and Arapahoe Counties are also closed Monday. Proceedings slated for the docket today are expected to begin at the same scheduled time on Tuesday.
Plus, eager ice fishers will have to delay that trip to the Aurora or Quincy reservoirs today. Both are currently closed for access.
See the full list of closures online here.
The 27 inches that had fallen by the end of Sunday at Denver International Airport on the plains east of downtown made it the fourth biggest snowfall in the city’s history, according to the National Weather Service in Denver.
The runways were closed just before noon on Sunday due to blowing snow and poor visibility. Some stranded passengers spent the night at the airport.
With the sun shining on Monday, over 200 plows were working to clear the snow and ice but the runways were not scheduled to reopen until 2 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time, the airport said.
Interstate 70 across much of the eastern half of Colorado was also closed.
Classes were canceled Monday at schools around the metro area and in Cheyenne and Casper. Classes were also called off at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and the University of Colorado’s main campus in Boulder.
The U.S. Postal Service said many post offices would be closed in Colorado on Monday and mail delivery in many locations would be severely curtailed or suspended.
In the Aurora metro area, all bus routes and light rail lines were suspended for snow removal with the exception of a line running from downtown’s Union Station to the airport, which ran on a reduced schedule.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center warned of “dangerous” avalanche conditions in many areas of the state, including the mountains along the Front Range. It urged backcountry users to avoid areas of new snowfall prone to wind drifts that could help trigger large snowslides on what has been a particularly unstable snowpack this season. Colorado has reported 11 avalanche deaths this winter.