Most power restored after Saturday storm
February 4th, 2006 - 6:12pm
(Port Angeles) -- Fierce winds downed trees and power lines across Western Washington and Oregon today, leaving at least 160,000 homes and businesses in the dark.
Power has been restored to most of Clallam County, as PUD Chief Engineer Dave Probestel says at the height of the storm about
5-thousand customers without electricity.
In the Port Angeles area, power was out on Old Mill, Mount Angeles and Black Diamond Roads.
Electricity was out along Palo Alto Rd east of Sequim.
Power also failed west of Lairds Corner on both Highway 101 and 112 to the West End.
PUD crews are still working to restore electricity in Neah Bay, half of LaPush and some areas south of Forks.
Probestel says there has been a landslide on the South Shore Rd at Lake Sutherland has blocked in a PUD crew on the dead end road.
He says County road crews are responding to clean up the roadway.
Meantime, one woman died as she drove near the Wahkiakum-Cowlitz County line in southwest Washington when a tree fell on her car.
The State Patrol identified the victim as 38-year-old Ingrid
Davis, of Kalama.
Her 13-year-old daughter, Alea, of Kalama, was in
the car and suffered a head injury.
Traffic had to be diverted off some roads in the region because
of flooding, shifting or sinking asphalt, falling trees or downed
power lines.
The storm forced closure of the floating bridge that takes State
Route 520 across Lake Washington east of Seattle for the first time
in nearly seven years.
High water, heavy winds and a mudslide prompted a 48-hour
shutdown of passenger rail service north of Seattle.
Washington State Ferries shut down the Port Townsend-Keystone
ferry run connecting the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula and
Whidbey Island because of choppy waters on Puget Sound.
Seattle's zoo shut down because of concerns that winds would
topple trees.
In the coastal town of Westport, the Grays Harbor County
Emergency and Risk Management Office said some waterfront motels
were evacuated as a precaution.
KBKW Radio in Aberdeen said several boats broke loose from their
moorings in Westport overnight. Some small campers were blown into
the water, and the seawall that protects the marina suffered minor
damage.
KBKW reported some parts of Raymond, about 20 miles south of
Aberdeen, were under 2 feet of water. Traffic in downtown Raymond
was limited to emergency vehicles.
The National Weather Service said it had received reports of 45
mph winds in Seattle, with gusts over 50 mph in West Seattle. Gusts
of more than 60 mph were reported in Jefferson County on the
Olympic Peninsula.
The state Department of Transportation said the 520 bridge, one
of two spans connecting Seattle to its eastern suburbs, was closed
in both directions around 9:30 a.m., after winds exceeded 50 mph.
Crews opened the draw span at the center of the bridge to
relieve pressure on the 42-year-old span.
Transportation
spokeswoman Melanie Coon said the last time it was shut down during
a storm was in March 1999.
Puget Sound Energy spokeswoman Lynn Carlson said many of the
utility's 140,000 customers without power should be back online by
midday tomorrow, but hard-hit areas ... particularly in Kitsap,
Jefferson and Island counties west and northwest of Seattle
could be without power for several days.
There were also outages in Thurston and Pierce counties south of
Seattle, and in part of King County north of the city. Seattle City
Light said it had about 20,000 customers without power.
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