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Sgt. Terry Leitch gives a heater to an Aspen resident outside the Aspen Police Department on Monday, December 28, 2020. In just over an hour, all heaters were claimed by unheated residents due to a lack of gas in the Aspen area. People waited in line in their cars and walked over to receive the heater. The Aspen Police Department is waiting for another truck of heaters. (Kelsey Brunner / The Aspen Times)
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Aspen residents claim heaters outside the Aspen Police Department to heat their homes during a gas outage on Monday, December 28, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner / The Aspen Times)
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Detective Danielle Madril runs a heater in a vehicle while community response officer Rachel Beck, on the left, and sergeant. Terry Leitch unwrapped boxes of heaters in front of the Aspen Police Department on Monday, December 28, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner / The Aspen Times)
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Aspen residents claim heaters outside the Aspen Police Department to heat their homes during a gas outage on Monday, December 28, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner / The Aspen Times)
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Detective Danielle Madril passes a heater in a vehicle outside the Aspen Police Department on Monday, December 28, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner / The Aspen Times)
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Aspen residents claim heaters outside the Aspen Police Department to heat their homes during a gas outage on Monday, December 28, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner / The Aspen Times)
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Detective Danielle Madril passes a heater on a vehicle outside the Aspen Police Department on Monday, December 28, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner / The Aspen Times)
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Community Response Officer Rachel Beck speaks to an Aspen resident before giving him an external Aspen Police Department heater on Monday, December 28, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner / The Aspen Times)
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The Aspen Police Department is distributing space heaters on Monday night to individuals who have no heating in their homes due to a drop in natural gas across the city.
Deputy Police Chief Bill Linn said at 5 pm Monday that the first shipment of nearly 4,000 space heaters was being delivered from Denver by Black Hills Energy.
Around 6:15 pm, Linn said about the community meeting that the first 400 heaters were distributed. A second truck arrived just before 7 pm and distribution was restarted.
Space heaters are being distributed in an area of Main Street in front of the APD building, between Spring and Hunter streets on the west lane.
People are asked to drive to the departure area and wait in line until someone hands them a heater.
“We will do contactless distribution,” officials said in an update late on Monday. “If you pull up and open the passenger window, we’ll put a heater inside.”
Dozens of cars were stopped around the Original Curve waiting for a policeman to launch as the snow fell harder over the hour.
The police simply asked the driver or passenger if they lived in Aspen and had no heating. Some would be rejected if they were not Aspen residents.
Most people thanked and some tried to catch more than one or crossed the line again for a second try.
Others went up to get a heater, like Diana Short, who lives a few blocks away.
“I am very grateful for what the city is doing,” she said, noting that she will probably put the heater in her son’s room.
Heaters are prioritized for individuals in need, not for companies or hotels.
Forty were reserved for the vulnerable population.
People with special needs can call (970) 379-1490 and request one for delivery.
Downvalley’s big stores, like Wal-Mart and Lowes, reportedly ran out of space heaters on Monday night.
This is a developing story that will be updated.