PORT TOWNSEND — Electrical power was lost midday Wednesday throughout almost all of East Jefferson County as an uprooted tree fell onto transmission lines in the Port Townsend area.
Will O’Donnell, Jefferson County Public Utility District communications manager, said the tree was located in the same area as the one that fell on lines Nov. 2 and disrupted electrical power.
“We will be patrolling the transmission lines in that area to see if we need to take additional action,” O’Donnell said.
The outage lasted for almost two hours and at its peak affected 16,035 customers. Power was restored to the Port Ludlow and Chimacum substations first, then to Port Townsend.
“We are heading into storm season so we will be checking all major transmission lines for potential problems,” O’Donnell said.
A Jefferson Healthcare spokesperson said the outage was not a major disruption for patients and staff.
“The hospital is on generators and we were able to function normally, including radiology and CT scanning,” Amy Yaley said.
The only problem was the inability to use credit and debit cards in the restaurant, she said, adding that salads weren’t served because they could not be kept at the proper temperature.
Keppie Keplinger, Port Townsend Police Department spokesperson, and Undersheriff Art Frank of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said no incidents were reported during the outage.
The Port Townsend Food Bank was distributing food for the Thanksgiving holiday when the outage occurred. Director Shirley Moss said volunteers and customers used headlamps and cellphones to light the way.
The only issue encountered was when Moss headed to Safeway and QFC for mid-day restocking of produce and bread.
“The stores didn’t open their refrigerators because they wanted to keep the cold in,” Moss said.
She was able to return when the power was restored to complete her shopping trip.
Mari Mullen, executive director of the Port Townsend Main Street Program, said the outage affected businesses in different ways.
“A number of the stores and restaurants remained opened during the outage, and customers were still here shopping,” she said.
Chris HoffmanHill, public services manager of the Jefferson County Library in Port Hadlock, said it was almost a festive atmosphere there.
“Fortunately we had plenty of daylight. We wrote things down long-hand and then caught up with computer input later on. So, if you needed to check things out, you were fine.
“There were people writing papers and doing research using their own computers,” she said. “The people who needed our computer and the internet were not so fortunate.”
Port Townsend Public Library officials chose to close for the day.
O’Donnell said the wind and rain are forecast for the next couple of days.
“We’ve got more wet and windy weather ahead,” he said. “Please check our Twitter and Facebook feeds for updates on any outages that may occur.
“We’ve got crews on call and try to respond as quickly as possible. We want everyone to have the best Thanksgiving holiday they can.”
For more information, see www.jeffpud.org.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.
