(Scroll down for newest info on big outage – mostly OUTSIDE WS – and its effects)
(Photo added 2:24 pm – Spokane/Chelan light, apparently the west edge of the outage)
FIRST REPORT, 1:37 PM: WSB’ers are telling us of a power outage stretching from Georgetown to SODO – but the City Light system-status map isn’t showing anything yet. We’re going to see what we can find out via other methods. Just got a note mentioning Harbor Island’s out, too.
1:43 PM UPDATE: Just talked to Scott Thomsen at Seattle City Light. Their “outage management system” is not letting people in for updates and that’s why the map hasn’t updated – but they apparently have TWO separate feeders out, totalling more than 6,300 customers (homes/businesses). No idea yet what caused it, but crews are being dispatched, Scott says.
1:51 PM UPDATE: WSB’ers are mentioning other areas in comments too, such as Beacon Hill. SDOT points out via Twitter that the signals in SODO are out along major streets such as 1st and 4th.
1:54 PM UPDATE: City Light just tweeted that 28,000 homes/businesses are affected:
City Light has suffered a significant outage affecting 28,000 customers.Problem has been ID’d and estimate restore by 5p.m.
— Seattle City Light (@SEACityLight) March 9, 2012
2:03 PM UPDATE: The City Light map is working now. Screengrab in a minute. It verifies Harbor Island is affected (we have a crew headed that way, too).
2:10 PM UPDATE: Our crew checking out Harbor Island says the intersection by Chelan Café is out, just west of the low bridge. Chelan Cafe itself has closed their restaurant, but the bar is still open. Meantime, if you have kids in schools in the outage zone – which does NOT include any of West Seattle, to our knowledge, beyond the Chelan Cafe area and Harbor Island – Seattle Public Schools has tweeted this:
after-school events cancelled at Mercer, Muir, Beacon H, Cleveland, Maple, Aki Kurose, Kimball, MLK, Dearborn, Franklin, Graham H, Hawthorne
— Seattle Schools (@seapubschools) March 9, 2012
Seattle City Light now says the problem is at the “South Substation” (3839 4th Ave. South, the big SCL facility right off the ramp from the eastbound West Seattle Bridge) and that some might not get their power back till 6 pm.
2:34 PM UPDATE: As many commenters are pointing out, the power’s come back on for most. Scott from City Light tells us about 600 homes/businesses are left to be restored. He says the problem happened when a power line that was being worked on at the South Station touched another piece of equipment and caused a short that led to the outage. Nobody was hurt.
3:01 PM UPDATE: And one last update from City Light via Twitter:
Power has been restored to all but 10 customers.Problem caused by awire tripping a relay at the south substation.
— Seattle City Light (@SEACityLight) March 9, 2012
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