The millennium is here. Suddenly, the western power grid goes down. There is no electricity. Even telephones are out. Grocery stores are quickly stripped of food by desperate families.
Fuel is in short supply, because most service station pumps are powered by electricity.
Remember, also, that it's January, when temperatures could be nearing the zero mark and the snowfall heavy. This is a worst-case scenario, to be sure. But that is the sort of situation Boulder officials want to be prepared to handle as best they can. About 70 emergency workers and officials participated in the drill. Looking on were about 35 observers from Jefferson County, Cheyenne and Longmont, among others.