Fewer than 1,000 people were without electrical power in Jefferson County today after Tuesday’s windstorm knocked out some 12,000 customers.
In Clallam County, only about 125 remained without power today.
Jim Parker, general manager of the Jefferson Public Utility District, said most of those were expected to have full power restoration sometime today.
“Most of [Port Townsend] was out Tuesday,” Parker said.
Main transmission lines were taken down by the winds and falling trees, and it took time to restore those lines, Parker said.
All those in Clallam County who remained without power also were expected to be back on the grid by the end of the day, said Mike Howe, spokesman for the Clallam County PUD.
Most of those remaining without power were in Carlsborg and west of Sequim, he said.
Approximately 3,000 customers were without power in central and eastern Clallam County on Tuesday, mostly from Port Angeles to Diamond Point, Howe said.
Most of the immediate damage and debris from Tuesday’s storm had been cleared today.
Clallam County officials said all roads were clear and reopened, with no debris, damage or closures that would impact residents, although many Olympic National park roads remained closed due to flood damage or snow.
Access remained closed to Hurricane Ridge, Elwha River valley, Hoh Rainforest, Mora, Sol Duc, Queets and North Shore Quinault, and campgrounds in those areas.
Staircase, Kalaloch, Ozette and Lake Crescent were open for visitors.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
EARLIER STORY
By Leah Leach
Peninsula Daily News
As many as 10,000 customers were without electrical power in East Jefferson County as of 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, while in Clallam County, some 2,700 remained in the dark as of 8:15 p.m.
Winds were still high then in East Jefferson County, said Jim Parker, manager of the Jefferson County Public Utility District, and most of Port Townsend remained dark because of a transmission line outage.
Power also was cut to the Port Townsend Paper Co., mill, he said, as well as to Port Ludlow, Kala Point, Coyle and Gardiner, with scattered outages elsewhere throughout the county.
“Trees across transmission lines are causing a lot of the outages,” Parker said.
“We’re hoping once we get them cleared, we can bring a lot of people back on.”
However, that could take awhile.
“The current outage is widespread,” the PUD warned in an announcement late Tuesday afternoon.
“One or two days or more is possible. Some PUD customers need to be prepared for up to several days without power.”
Parker said that many counties throughout the region lost power in the windstorm and that it is difficult to find extra crews to bring in.
“This could be quite a little while before we get everybody back up,” Parker said.
To report an outage in East Jefferson County, call 360-385-5800.
The good news in Jefferson County is that, although rivers in the Brinnon area were running high, the fire department hadn’t received calls for help from people threatened by flooding.
The Duckabush and Dosewallips rivers, which have flooded homes in the past during heavy rainfall, were swollen and had overflowed their banks on some side roads, said Nehemiah Killam, Brinnon firefighter, at about 7 p.m. Tuesday.
But the department had received no calls from people who needed help due to flooding, he said.
In Clallam County, of the 2,700 customers who were without electrical power at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, most were in eastern Clallam County — in Diamond Point, Agnew, Blyn, Sequim, Sunland and Carlsborg as well as scattered outages elsewhere in the area, said Mike Howe, Clallam Public Utility District spokesman.
About 425 were without power then in Neah Bay, he said.
“Crews are responding to all outages and are working as quickly as possible,” Howe said. “ High winds and inclement weather are the cause.”
An estimated time of restoration was not available.
To report outages, call 360-452-9771 or 800-542-7859.
The storm was widespread, reaching across much of Washington state to northern Idaho and south to Portland, Ore.
A woman in her 50s was killed when a tree toppled taking down power lines as it fell in Spokane Tuesday afternoon and a man in his mid-20s was killed when a tree crushed his car as he was driving near Sultan in Snohomish County, the Associated Press reported.
Puget Sound Energy reported more than 214,000 customers without power in its Western Washington region Tuesday evening as trees toppled onto roadways and power lines.
Energy company Avista Corp. said more than 113,000 customers lost power around Spokane and in northern Idaho.
Rattlesnake Mountain, a 3,500-foot ridge that overlooks the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southwestern Washington, saw wind gusts as high as 113 mph, the Tri-City Herald reported.
In Oregon, thousands were reportedly without power in the greater Portland area and a flood watch was issued for the northern Oregon coast through Wednesday.
EARLIER STORY
By James Casey
Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND — A North Olympic Peninsula storm brought high winds Tuesday that cut power to nearly 12,000 electrical customers in Jefferson and Clallam counties.
High water closed roads in Clallam County.
More than 6,600 Jefferson Public Utility District customers, including most in Port Townsend, were without electricity due to falling trees starting at about 4 p.m. Tuesday.
“We lost a transmission line going into Port Townsend,” said Jim Parker, Jefferson County Public Utility District general manager.
He had no estimate of when power might be restored.
Clallam County PUD officials counted about 4,500 customers without power from Port Angeles to Diamond Point at 5:28 p.m., according to spokesman Michael Howe.
By 5:52 p.m., that number had come down to about 3,500 without power, he said.
About 700 customers had lost electricity in Forks, Clallam Bay, La Push and Sappho earlier in the day.
Most of the Clallam West End customers had been restored shortly after noon, but those in the eastern part of the county remained without power at 5:22 p.m.
Overall, about 11,800 customers lost power during the day, although some had power restored within hours.
The onset of the storm in Clallam County prompted the state Department of Transportation to close U.S. Highway 101 the length of Lake Crescent from 1 p.m. to 3:49 p.m.
Clallam Transit System suspended bus service to the West End.
State Highway 112 remained closed in both directions near Pysht as darkness fell Tuesday. State Highway 110 was closed near Mora by high water at 5:24 p.m.
Washington State Ferries suspended the Port Townsend-Coupeville run at least until Wednesday.
Winds across the Peninsula increased at about 3:56 p.m., and emergency dispatchers in Clallam and Jefferson counties received a rash of reports of power outages, blocked streets, brush fires, electrical explosions, and vehicle collisions with trees.
The Jefferson County Public Utility District’s list of outages quickly doubled in less than an hour.
Meanwhile, the Hood Canal Bridge reopened at 2:10 p.m. Tuesday. It had been closed at 10:41 a.m. when white waves lashed the north side of the span, driven by winds gusting to 44 miles per hour.
Across the Peninsula, a flood warning continues through 4 a.m. Thursday with rain forecast to persist until Thursday night.
As of Tuesday afternoon, only the Elwha River had risen above its banks by 1.6 feet above 7-foot flood stage south of U.S. Highway 101.
In Jefferson County, flood-prone areas around the Duckabush River had high water, said Emergency Services spokeswoman Keppie Keplinger, who said she had received few details from emergency responders, “which is a good thing.”
The Quillayute Valley School District canceled its Tuesday meeting to discuss replacing the Forks High School playing fields and stadium. The session will be rescheduled, said Lindsey Wallerstedt, assistant to the superintendent.
A gale warning with southwest winds also was in effect from the Pacific Coast across the Cascade Mountains and onto the Idaho Panhandle. A high surf advisory was in effect through Tuesday night on the Pacific Coast.
Wind gusts at 3 p.m. Tuesday were clocked at 60 mph at Ellis Mountain near Sappho; 57 mph at Destruction Island off Kalaloch; 52 mph at Pleasant Harbor on Hood Canal, 51 mph in Port Townsend; 49 mph at Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles; 48 mph at Quillayute Airport near La Push; and 39 mph at Sequim.
Winds gusted to 62 mph in Victoria, B.C., and 71 mph at Race Rocks.
As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, 2.47 inches of rain had fallen in 24 hours in Forks; 1.99 inches at Quillayute Airport near La Push; 1.87 inches at Pleasant Harbor; 1.71 inches at Fairchild International Airport, Port Angeles; 1.31 inches in Quilcene; 1.00 inch at the McDonald Creek bridge across U.S. Highway 101 near Sequim; 0.81 inch in Port Ludlow; 0.74 inch at Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles; and 0.69 inch in Port Townsend.
Wind and precipitation totals were provided by the National Weather Service.
A storm that passed through the area last weekend brought wind and high water but fewer power outages than Tuesday’s blow.
The weather service predicts rain will keep up until Friday, when partly sunny conditions are forecast before a chance of rain resumes through Monday.
_______
Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.
