FORKS — A one-vehicle wreck partially blocked traffic on U.S. Highway 101 near Forks for about two hours when it hit a power pole, which blacked out electricity for 177 Clallam County Public Utility District customers in Forks and Internet service to some West End customers of CenturyLink.
Bryan Sanders of Forks — no age available — drove a 2003 Ford F150 into the pole at U.S. Highway 101 near the intersection of Dowans Creek Road about five miles south of Forks at about 6:45 a.m. Thursday.
Sanders was not injured, said the State Patrol, which reported no determination of the cause of the wreck Thursday.
The PUD had replaced the pole and restored power to customers by about 10 p.m., said spokesman Mike Howe.
Internet service was restored by about 3 p.m. Thursday when a fiber optic line severed by the wreck was repaired, said Tony Timmons, CenturyLink spokesman.
Affected areas
The outage “affected the Forks, Neah Bay, Clallam Bay and Beaver areas,” Timmons said.
He didn’t know the specific number of customers affected but said it was a “handful of customers.”
The southbound lane of Highway 101 was partially blocked for about two hours while the truck was towed from the scene, the state Department of Transportation said.
