Schools and government offices in Clear Creek County were closed Thursday due to a countywide power outage, the sheriff's office posted on social media.The school district had initially planned to open on a two-hour delay but announced the closure later Thursday morning due to the "extended" outage.Xcel Energy said the outage initially impacted roughly 4,000 customers, but that number was cut to around 736 by around 10:30 a.m., according to its outage map. The utility estimated power would be restored by 1:30 p.m. All homes, businesses, schools and government offices were impacted, according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office. The agency advised to expect delays and closures in the area. That includes Idaho Springs, Silver Plume, Russell Gulch, Empire, Dumont, Lawson, Georgetown and Central City.Stoplights and overhead street lights were out across the area, Denver7 Traffic Expert Jayson Luber observed Thursday morning from Colorado Department of Transportation traffic cameras. The outage started around 3:10 a.m., but the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office said at 5:31 a.m., it did not know what caused the power to go down.