SEQUIM — If your lights went off last Saturday in the Sequim area, you’re not alone.
Clallam Public Utility District staff reported the next day that 16,300 customers lost power from Agnew to Blyn because of a treetop falling onto a power line in Carlsborg.
Linemen repaired the damage in less than two hours and restored power at about 11:15 p.m.
Nicole Clark, communications manager for the PUD, said the power also went out to the utility district’s answering service in Blyn due to it being the weekend and it took about 20 minutes to set up generators before going back online.
Clark said her ability to update the PUD’s website and social media accounts about the outage also was affected, so updates were provided through KSQM FM radio station 91.5.
“We consider the website the primary source of information because anybody with access to the Internet can go there,” she said. “We have customers who don’t use social media so this way everyone can get the information.”
She said power outage information is always put on the website first, followed by social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter.
Due to the high amount of people accessing smart phones, Clark said the diminished cell service prevented her from accessing the internet.
However, with a landline she was able to reach KSQM with an update, she said. If an update is not posted on www.clallampud.net within a few minutes of a power outage, Clark recommends residents tune in to its radio partners KSQM 91.5, KONP at 1450 AM or 101.7 FM, or KFKB Forks 1490 depending on your area.
In an outage, PUD officials recommend customers check their breakers and then report it to 360-452-9771 or 800-542-7859. Customers also can visit the website for updates and/or report it through their accounts at www. clallampud.net/.
