By IVAN MORENO,
Associated Press Writer AP - 1 hour 24 minutes ago

DENVER - Hundreds of stranded travelers resumed their journeys Saturday
after spending the night at shelters when a powerful spring storm
walloped the Rocky Mountains and foothills west of Denver with more than
3 feet of snow.

Officials reopened an 80-mile stretch of Interstate 70 between Golden
and Vail that had been closed Friday, said Colorado Department of
Transportation spokesman Bob Wilson. Drivers were cautioned to expect
heavy traffic and sloppy road conditions.

"It's not the I-70 you know in a June afternoon," Wilson said.

Storm warnings were dropped as the bulk of the storm moved east into Kansas.

About 18,000 homes and businesses were without power in Denver and areas
west of the city. The heavy snow had weighed down power lines and
tripped system circuit breakers. Xcel Energy spokesman Joe Fuentes said
crews hoped to restore power by nightfall.

About 3 to 10 inches fell in Denver, but the heaviest of Friday's snow
dropped on the foothills west of the city, with 52 inches at Pinecliffe
and 36 at Black Hawk, said National Weather Service meteorologist Carl
Burroughs.

April is one of the third snowiest month in Colorado, behind March and
November, he said.

Some airlines canceled or delayed flights at Denver International
Airport even as snow turned to rain Saturday, and travelers were urged
to check on their flights before leaving home.

United Airlines, the dominant carrier at DIA, canceled 76 flights
Friday, 14 on Saturday and delayed several others, said spokeswoman
Robin Urbanski.

The snow had prompted the closure of I-70 between Vail and Golden, and
more than 500 people spent the night at American Red Cross shelters in
Idaho Springs and Georgetown. The National Guard delivered two
truckloads of cots, blankets and food.

About 90 travelers stayed at an elementary school in Idaho Springs.
Shelter manager Linda Broom said they came from all parts of the country
_ including Alaska, Utah and Washington, D.C.

"They were really most appreciative and in good spirits because it was
pretty late and they had been sitting in traffic, they slept well,"
Broom said. "One slept extremely well, as we could all hear."

The shelters shut down Saturday.

The storm triggered numerous traffic accidents across Colorado. One
person was killed Friday in a two-vehicle crash on Colorado 52 in Weld
County, near Fort Lupton, said Colorado State Patrol spokesman Gilbert
Mares. Information about the victim was not immediately available.

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