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Deputies confirm two more blizzard-related deaths

Posted at 7:13 PM, Mar 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-29 21:33:02-04

CALHAN – El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies found a man and woman, along with three dogs, dead inside a home which they believe suffered a power outage due to the storm.

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says a truck driver came back to his Calhan home on Monday to find his wife, male roommate and their dogs had passed away.

“[He] last spoke with his wife approximately during the blizzard where she informed him at that time that there was no power in the residence and his attempts to reach her […] were unsuccessful,” said Natalie Sosa, a spokesperson for El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

Power outages were just one of the many reasons calls were flooding into first responders throughout the storm.

“Our office received ten times the amount of calls that we normally receive during that time,” Sosa added.
“We were responding and receiving multiple calls of people that were stranded in that area, people without power.”

The eastern side of El Paso County suffered the storm’s most powerful blows.

“That area was hit pretty hard,” Sosa noted.
“There were power lines down, there were trees that were knocked down, several people stranded so it was pretty impacted by that storm.”

Snow could still be seen on the ground on Friday, along with broken tree branches.

A man in Yoder also died in the blizzard when he got stuck in the whiteout conditions trying to turn on his generator.

Since these storms can quickly turn deadly, the sheriff’s office says now is the time to pack supplies and think ahead.

“Water, extra food, you know make sure that your alarms are working correctly, your fire alarms, your carbon monoxide alarms,” Sosa emphasized.
“Just make sure that you are prepared for those types of storms before they hit.”

The sheriff’s office is waiting on the coroner’s office to confirm the cause of death, but say they are not considered suspicious.