UPDATE: 2 West Seattle power outages

| Utilities | West Seattle news

(Added 12:10 pm: Map of outages)

11:19 AM: Thanks for the tip: The Seattle City Light map shows 184 homes/businesses out in Highland Park/Puget Ridge, along 16th SW. No word on the cause yet; Brian says via e-mail, “Explosion was heard toward SSC and then power went out.”

12:03 PM: Checking the SCL site for an update, we see another 299 customers went out just west of the original outage zone, mostly along 21st SW, about half an hour ago. (updated) Added a map image for both outages.

1:19 PM: Tipster Aaron notes that SFD is/was checking out transformers near Riverview Playfield. Meantime, the newer, westernmost outage has dropped in size by about a third.

8:46 PM: As this has stretched on for so long, we tried SCL’s after-hours media pager and just got a call back. The outage was caused by a fire at the base of a pole in the greenbelt by SW Holly – the cause hasn’t been determined – but it’s been difficult for crews to access; they’re “close” to restoration, the spokesperson says.

10:17 PM: We noticed a few minutes ago that the outage was down to 191 customers. And we just got a text that power’s come back on at 21st/Holly. The map might not reflect that immediately.

10:40 PM: Looks like that was it – all but a handful are reconnected, after ~12 hours.

1000amys July 4, 2018 (11:38 am)

We are on 21st at Holly. Power went out for a few seconds around 11:00. Just went off again at 11:35 and seems to mean it this time.

WSB July 4, 2018 (12:08 pm)

Just noticed that, checking the map, and have updated. Thanks.

Sage July 4, 2018 (11:54 am)

Power is out all the way to Delridge / Juneau.It first went out for less than a minute and a few minutes later it went out again and stayed out.

Rebekah July 4, 2018 (1:56 pm)

FYI: The power outage here at Delridge at the corner of Delridge and SW Juneau started at 11:30 and they turned the power back on at 1:20 p.m. I called Seattle City Light and they seemed on top of things.

REBEKAH July 4, 2018 (2:15 pm)

I just tried to leave a note, but it did not show up on the blog. I was in the Delridge area near SW Juneau and the power went out at 11:35 a.m., and it came back on at 1;20 p.m. I called Seattle City light and they said they did not know the cause but were working on it. I am wondering what caused the outage.

WSB July 4, 2018 (2:23 pm)

Hi, I see a prior comment from you … Anyway, SCL’s brief map notation has updated to “equipment failure,” which is a catch-all phrase for many possible things. I will be following up for further details post-holiday when media contacts are back in the office. – TR

REBEKAH July 4, 2018 (2:23 pm)

Yep…Sage…!! I noticed that too. I am right there. It went out permanently around 11:30 and then came back on permanently at 1:20 p.m. Do you have any idea what happened or what it was caused by?

Sage July 4, 2018 (3:45 pm)

No idea. But I noticed that there is something about the grid that leads to this area being affected by other areas going out. I’m curious if it’s because of the proximity to the substation.

Ron July 4, 2018 (4:17 pm)

Seattle Light doesn’t give a crap about our part of West Seattle. If this outage was in the Admiralty district or Alki it would have been fixed hours ago. For us, the ETA for a fix has gone from 3:00, to 7:00 and is now 11:00.

Jeff July 4, 2018 (4:58 pm)

Talk to anyone in the plenty spendy Brace Point or Arroyos neighborhoods and you will see pretty quick that it’s not especially speedy anywhere.
HappyCamper July 5, 2018 (12:09 am)

Thank you to the workers who put their holiday on hold and drove in from who knows where to fix our power on their day off.
- ItsTheirJob July 5, 2018 (8:07 am)
  
  That’s their JOB. And they probably got overtime for it. All these people do is ask for more money and provide lousy service.

James July 4, 2018 (5:22 pm)

Thankful I didn’t put the meat on the grill before 11:30. But this is BS no reason for outage but out all day. This is what happens when you live near White Center

WSB July 4, 2018 (5:27 pm)

The outage is nowhere near White Center.
miws July 4, 2018 (5:41 pm)

James, what would White Center have to do with this even if the outage were near there? Mike
AMD July 4, 2018 (7:18 pm)

Uh, I live near White Center and our power has gone out exactly once. Ever. When there was an underground vault fire, and it was back on within a few hours. Maybe you meant this is what happens when you DON’T live near White Center?

REBEKAH July 4, 2018 (5:41 pm)

Thanks TR! I deeply appreciate that!! You are asesome!!

REBEKAH July 4, 2018 (5:48 pm)

Good point and question…I will venture my own guess here based on my proximity to the woods here near Longfellow Creek here and say that I think it could have been caused by all of the fireworks renegades setting off fireworks and it could have hit a power line? I have a strong instinct of that, anyway.