AN UPDATE from Clallam PUD as of 8:46 p.m.:
We are presently experiencing outages in only a few scattered locations.
As of 8:46 p.m., kess than 25 customers are still without power, down from more than 2300 customers at the beginning of the day. By 9:30 p.m. there should be less than 5 customers without power.
Crews will continue working into the night to restore power to all customers.
In the event that the weather continues to create new outages to the above listed areas, there is the chance that the restoration times listed will need to be adjusted.
Updates to outage status will be recorded as soon as additional information is available. Thank you for your patience!
UPDATE FROM Clallam PUD as of 6:30 p.m.:
— All of Joyce is on with the exception of Graul-Ramapo and Camp Hayden.
— Most of South Shore is back on at the lake.
— East Beach is still mostly out.
— So, we have about 130 customers without power now. At this time, there is no ETA on when those will be restored but our crews continue working.
UPDATE at 5:15 p.m. from Clallam PUD:
We are presently experiencing outages in the following locations:
— In Sequim: Lost Mountain Rd.
— In Port Angeles: Patterson Rd. Customers in these two areas will be without power into the evening .
— In Joyce: The majority of Joyce customers will have power restored by 5:30pm, however, some customers will continue to be without power into the evening.
— Individual outages on Lake Sutherland, Barnes Pt. and South Shore Rd. will also continue into the evening.
As of 5:15 p.m., 330 customers are still without power, down from more than 2300 customers at the beginning of the day. By 5:30 p.m., the number is likely to be reduced to 130 as the Joyce area comes back online.
Crews will be working after hours to restore power to all customers. In the event that the weather continues to create new outages to the above listed areas, there is the chance that the restoration times listed will need to be adjusted.
EARLIER STORY (4th UPDATE as of 3:15 p.m.):
GUSTY WINDS HAMMERED Jefferson and Clallam counties today (Wednesday), knocking out power to thousands of customers as tree limbs hit electrical lines.
The National Weather Service reported a 50 mph gust along the Hood Canal. Gusts up to 60 miles an hour were registered at Cape Flattery, at the tip of the Peninsula west of Neah Bay, and 5 mph to 30 mph across the rest of the North Olympic Peninsula.
State ferry service aboard the MV Chetzemoka between Port Townsend and Coupeville has resumed after a short suspension because of stormy waters.
After the gusts die down later today — they were already calming by 3 p.m. — forecasters expect windy, showery weather through Saturday.
Puget Sound Energy spokeswoman Abigail Elliott said about 500 Jefferson County customers were without power this afternoon.
“Crews are responding to outages as they happen,” Elliott said.
As of 10 a.m., about 2,500 customers in east Port Angeles, Joyce, Sequim and the West End were without power, Clallam County PUD estimated.
Clallam PUD spokesman Mike Howe gave these estimates for the restoration of service:
— Crews have restored most of Patterson Road in Port Angeles, but some customers may remain without power until the early evening.
— The Joyce area west of Port Angeles by 4 p.m., “with perhaps some isolated single outages in the area going into the evening.”
— Deer Park should be restored by 4:30 p.m.
— Glass Road should be restored by 4:30 p.m.
— Herrick Road sometime around 5:30 p.m.
“There will be some customers out at Barnes Point and individual customers in all locations that could potentially go without power later into the night,” said Howe.
Howe said high winds caused trees to fall onto lines, starting around 7:30 a.m.
The outages wreaked havoc on the westbound morning commute into Port Angeles after several traffic lights were disabled. Traffic was backed up to the Morse Creek S-curve.
The State Patrol directed traffic until the lights were restored at about 9:15 a.m.
Elsewhere in the state, the National Weather Service reported gusts of 50 mph at Ocean Shores, 54 mph at Whidbey Island, 48 mph at Bellingham and 35 mph at Sea-Tac Airport.
In addition to Jefferson County, Puget Sound Energy reported outages in six other counties, with the most — about 3,000 — in Whatcom County.
The city of Bellingham cordoned off a couple of streets because of downed lines.
Seattle City Light reported 3,100 customers were out of service for a time.
