DENVER (AP) - A fast-moving storm packing high winds, rain and snow blew through Colorado Sunday, knocking out power to more than 30,000 people and playing havoc with flights at Denver International Airport.

 Xcel Energy crews had restored power to main distribution lines and planned to work through the night repairing hundreds of smaller outages, spokesman Mark Stutz said.

 Airport delays reached as much as an hour, and the Federal Aviation Administration issued an order Sunday evening grounding all departing planes. The order was lifted about an hour later as the weather improved, said Denver Department of Aviation spokesman Steve Snyder.

 ``The airfield is fully operational and planes are able to depart and arrive,'' Snyder said.

 At least three flights were diverted to the Colorado Springs Airport, said airport spokeswoman Mary Collins. Others were diverted to Grand Junction.

 The Denver airport received an inch of snow and in the city's downtown temperatures plummeted from the mid-70s to 37 degrees in less than an hour. Winds up to 60 mph were reported.

 Six people were hospitalized after a crash involving up to a dozen vehicles on Highway 85 when blowing dust cut visibility, KCNC-TV reported. The highway was closed briefly between Fort Lupton and Greeley.

 The wind knocked down trees and power lines and snarled traffic in Denver, police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez said. A mall in Littleton was evacuated after part of a roof collapsed.

 A major storm in April caused millions of dollars in damages and shut down Denver International for the first time in the airport's history.

©The Associated Press May 20 2001 11:08PM
 

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