UPDATE: Power outage north of The Junction

| Utilities | West Seattle news

4:40 PM: 78 homes are out of power north of The Junction, between (roughly) 40th and 41st SW and Charlestown and Genesee. Fire and police have been dispatched to check out what at least one caller said sounded like an “explosion.” Updates to come.

4:57 PM: One resident says his house was out for about 10 minutes but has power back. SCL’s map still shows 78 out. SFD apparently didn’t find anything at note, as its response has closed.

6:30 PM: Only one home is shown as still out. See comments below for neighborhood reports on what happened and how it was fixed.

Lynda June 19, 2022 (4:57 pm)

All good on 39th and Andover

Keith June 19, 2022 (4:58 pm)

I’m near 40th and Dakota. Heard a loud “pop” that I thought was a firework. About ten minutes later there was a much bigger “sizzle-boom” that was clearly something electrical, but I haven’t seen anything weird with the wires/poles in sight.

adam June 19, 2022 (5:05 pm)

Power came back on and then went back off. The neighbor found a dead crow under a transformer where the explosion came from and has called it in. Power is still out.

Bug June 19, 2022 (5:39 pm)

Power is back on at 40th and Dakota!

Dr Bridgett Chandler June 19, 2022 (6:10 pm)

Well, this was sincerely a great demonstration of local government at work. Seattle City Light crews repaired the damage done in our neighborhood by a crow! It caught its wingtip on a power line as it took off from sitting on the transformer in the alley between 40th and 41st. This fried crow caused a surge to travel down the power line 1/2 block south where a fuse then exploded and caught fire. The fuse did its job by taking one for the team and stopping the surge. Seattle Fire Dept responded to the 911 call made when the fuse thingymabob was burning and smoking – the fire was out when they got there. They thanked neighbors for calling it in and said City Light was on the way. There was initially a bit of a crowd watching the fire, and the 911 dispatcher notified SPD in case people needed encouragement to move away. Everyone was great – just curious – and moved back to their lives once the fire truck arrived and departed. SPD checked that there wasn’t dangerous debris and went on to their next call. Seattle City Light responded, repaired the damage to both poles, and power was restored. All of this transpired on a Sunday in about an hour. For all we hear about what isn’t working, I just wanted to give gratitude for all that was in place and all the people who were trained and equipped and willing to respond when we needed them. Thank you, community!

Why June 20, 2022 (1:56 am)

Thank you for this informative post, Dr. Chandler, it’s very interesting, and a good read, too. I just have to wonder how someone could know the poor fried blackbird clipped a wing on takeoff. Was there a witness? Or was it the autopsy?(23 blackbirds to go for a full pie!)

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