Update: West Seattle power outage blamed on “cable failure”

(scroll down for latest updates)

(video added 8:31 pm – Fauntleroy/California intersection just before power returned)
FIRST REPORT at 6:46 PM: Power just went out here at WSB HQ in Upper Fauntleroy. Checking to find out the extent of the outage. So far: SW Austin on the north. On the south, we drove 35th and it came back on by the time we got to SW Henderson. Just called City Light, this isn’t on their outage hotline yet – calling the media number next. Via Twitter, we have a couple reports that Alki had a flicker but no outage. Meantime, one person in comments reports having trouble reporting this via the city outage number – we had the same problem.

7:05 PM UPDATE: Still no record of this on City Light’s line. This definitely seems to be a “south West Seattle” situation. Right now, we’re checking the Lincoln Park area – the 76 station and the tennis courts are out but the ferry dock has the power – south of the tennis courts, there’s power. Looks like the lights are on at The Kenney. In comments, Josh says he reached someone at SCL who says this is affecting 3,000 homes/businesses.

7:11 PM UPDATE: From the Seattle City Light media line – 2,756 “customers” (homes/businesses) without power, boundaries described as Findlay, Henderson, 34th, Puget Sound, no cause known yet, “estimated time of restoration” unknown. Co-publisher Patrick is on the road checking key spots in the area – he says the California/Fauntleroy light is out and businesses around that intersection appear to be out as well, at least on the Zeeks Pizza/Starbucks-Subway/Thriftway corners – he’s going into Thriftway shortly to check on the situation there. (update) They’re open for business, with the help of generators – here’s a photo:

Going east on Morgan from the Thriftway, Patrick reports that the outage is spotty – a few spots out, a few spots on. City Light’s online note is here (no info beyond what we have already reported). Again, The Junction and other points north, NOT affected by all accounts – and to the south, one commenter says Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor) and that section of Fauntleroy has power – so if you’re looking to go out to dinner, head in those directions. We’re heading out to check on Westwood Village. From Facebook, Lindsey offers words of warning and advice:

There’s power on raymond and fauntleroy. Stay away from 35th and morgan traffic light !! People’s tempers are getting ugly. People keep driving and not stopping on 35th ouch almost saw a accident

7:43 PM UPDATE: Westwood Village has its power on, no problem. Again, as Lindsey’s note above indicates, driving is a big problem right now, with major lights out of power including California/Fauntleroy, 35th/Morgan, 35th/Thistle. (added 9:22 pm, Christopher Boffoli‘s photo of Calif/Fauntleroy during the outage)

Still no updates so far on how long this will last or what caused it. It’s dark along Fauntleroy from Myrtle to California. Continuing reports of where the power is ON – Delridge and Highland Park report in as OK – so this does not seem to extend much past 35th.

7:53 PM UPDATE: Power just came back on to California/Fauntleroy intersection and surrounding businesses, per co-publisher Patrick. Not back on up here (California/Thistle, mile south) yet. (minutes later) He’s checking south now – the outage starts again at SW Austin and continues to about SW Trenton, again with irregular boundaries in some spots. (Sue via Facebook says she’s at 41st and Holly, where one side of the street is out, the other on!)

8:01 PM UPDATE: WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli has joined the outage-coverage team – he says Zeeks in Morgan Junction will reopen but since they had sent half their staff home, they will NOT be delivering for the rest of the night. He also just verified, Abbondanza in Morgan Junction has reopened. McDonald’s is open but Subway will remain closed for the night. (Added 9:09 pm, Christopher’s photo of Feedback Lounge [WSB sponsor], serving by candlelight before the power returned:)

8:08 PM UPDATE: Our power just returned at California/Thistle. It’s still out at the north Lincoln Park 76 station and nearby tennis courts, plus heading down the hill to Lowman Beach from there.

8:21 PM UPDATE: At Lowman Beach, Christopher reports a crew from King County has brought portable power to make sure the pump station there keeps running. (He took this photo, added at 9 pm:)

Just checked City Light’s media line again, still no new updates on the cause (or when the outage will be fully restored).

8:30 PM UPDATE: In comments, Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker says she has word from her mom at The Kenney that it’s operating on reduced power. Also, a comment from Gatewood says that while the power’s back, Comcast service isn’t fully restored for them (ours up the hill to the south is, fwiw). Meantime, we’re adding a video clip atop this story, from when the power went back on while we were rolling video on the then-dark intersection at California/Fauntleroy (note the flashing traffic lights at the end of the clip).

8:39 PM UPDATE: City Light says “underground cable failure” caused the outage and all should be restored by 9.

9:04 PM UPDATE: Still have scattered reports of powerlessness – DrD in comments says 6900 block of California; Andrea via Facebook says upper Lowman Beach.

9:24 PM UPDATE: Still out at the north Lincoln Park pocket too, as Kari notes in comments; co-publisher Patrick is back out roaming and spotted a City Light crew working on a pole across from the 76 station there.

9:35 PM UPDATE: Now that area is back, and upper Lowman Beach appears to be too, so unofficially it looks like the outage is ALL over – let us know if you are an exception. Meantime, Christopher put together a short clip including Morgan Junction during the outage, Lowman Beach pump truck, and Morgan Junction post-power-back:

90 Replies to "Update: West Seattle power outage blamed on "cable failure""

  • Jill October 14, 2009 (6:47 pm)

    Yep, out in Fairmount park area

  • Tony October 14, 2009 (6:49 pm)

    Lost power @ High Point too. Looks like power is on just south of us @ the HS.

  • Ra October 14, 2009 (6:49 pm)

    Yes. We’re out. We’re over by Solstice Park/Lincoln park tennis courts.

  • SarahScoot October 14, 2009 (6:50 pm)

    Yep, we’re out on the east side of California between Frontenac and Mills.

  • busser October 14, 2009 (6:50 pm)

    Yep. 42nd right behind Thriftway. Some storm!!

  • Jsv888 October 14, 2009 (6:50 pm)

    Out in Highpoint.

  • Shawn October 14, 2009 (6:51 pm)

    Powers out Lincoln Park area

  • Sw October 14, 2009 (6:51 pm)

    Power out on Gatewood hill. It’s not December – and there isn’t even a storm to name the outage after…

  • marts October 14, 2009 (6:51 pm)

    High Point library is out of power and shutting down early for the night.

  • BHJason October 14, 2009 (6:52 pm)

    Out at Beveridge Place Pub, too!

  • BHJason October 14, 2009 (6:53 pm)

    Streetlights, at least, are on northeast of California & Morgan

  • E October 14, 2009 (6:53 pm)

    Yes:-(. Kenyon and 46! Bbbboooooooo!

  • Lukas October 14, 2009 (6:55 pm)

    Power is on 3700 block SW Webster

  • Bruce October 14, 2009 (6:55 pm)

    Out in Fairmount Springs too, 3-4 blks south of AK Junction is out, Jefferson Sq is ON, Juction ON, I heard parts of Gatewood Hill are OUT and down by The Kenney-OUT.

  • Homer October 14, 2009 (6:57 pm)

    California and Admiral….lights flickered 3 times but still have power….where’s some wood to knock on?

  • B October 14, 2009 (6:57 pm)

    35th at elmgrove too

  • Jill October 14, 2009 (6:57 pm)

    Oh this is brilliant. “24 hour” outage hotline tells me a rep needs to verify my address… oh what do you know, cust service is closed, call back during biz hrs. FUMING. Neighbors probably hear my curses.

  • Lesley October 14, 2009 (6:57 pm)

    We’re out at gatewood area. Frontenac and 41st.

  • Roger October 14, 2009 (7:01 pm)

    Can’t seem to call in the outage to CL.
    system ends the call after entering phone no…any one else?

  • Josh October 14, 2009 (7:01 pm)

    Just off the phone w/SCL. They do not know the cause or location yet. Anyone know why? The person stated that 3000 customers in the dark.

  • Findlay October 14, 2009 (7:03 pm)

    Powers on at 34th Ave SW & Findlay. Saw the flicker…

  • Hollyplace October 14, 2009 (7:06 pm)

    I just started cooking a nice salmon fillet, 2 seconds into it! Any bets on how long we will be without power? Heard sirens a couple ofminutes ago too.

  • Tom October 14, 2009 (7:08 pm)

    A few more hours of this, and I’ll be expecting food riots.

  • MP October 14, 2009 (7:09 pm)

    thanks for the heads up everybody. why is this happening so much (the past few years anyway!!)
    any ideas?

  • powerless October 14, 2009 (7:10 pm)

    Power is out on the east side of 38th ave SW but on across the street on the west side of 38th. (Near Juneau)

  • GenHillOne October 14, 2009 (7:14 pm)

    Same as Homer, flickered 3 times here, but didn’t go out.

  • Susan October 14, 2009 (7:16 pm)

    We’re out on Ida Street between 35th & California. I reported the outage on the automated call line. I think there are different numbers out there. South from Holden on it’s dark. A block north there are street lights on.

  • Poo October 14, 2009 (7:23 pm)

    Solutions? Eta on power anyone? Or suggestions for where to grab a beer somewhere with power?

  • Solar Epiphany October 14, 2009 (7:24 pm)

    Your local solar contractor here… We install affordable batteryback ups for just this type of situation…take care!

  • Bruce October 14, 2009 (7:25 pm)

    Endolyne Joe’s has more power than our kitchen. I’m heading south for dinner…DON’T GO tho…till I order.

  • Sonja October 14, 2009 (7:27 pm)

    37th Ave SW near Morgan has power.

  • WSB October 14, 2009 (7:30 pm)

    P, we are continuing to update the story ABOVE the comments, as we are in touch with Seattle City Light media, etc. No ETA for power return. No cause determined yet. If anyone sees a City Light truck, please let us know – THAT’s where we want to send our crew next to get firsthand scoop – thanks – TR

  • BHJason October 14, 2009 (7:31 pm)

    I think I meant south before. Northeast of Morgan Junction seems dim/candlelit. I still have beer to drink.

  • BHJason October 14, 2009 (7:31 pm)

    I think I meant south before. Northeast of Morgan Junction seems dim/candlelit. I still have beer to drink.

  • Kevin October 14, 2009 (7:36 pm)

    Just got back from running errands and everything from White Center to Arbor Heights is fine.
    .
    The cause of the power outage could even be something outside of our general area.

    Just before it got dark, I noticed that there was quite a line of very dark clouds to the south, perhaps around 116th or so?

  • Colleen October 14, 2009 (7:40 pm)

    Out at Juneau and Calif at the Ho Win and the two buildings next to it, but power on rest of block.

    So when I got to my apartment and saw we had no power, I called my folks in West Seattle to check the blog. My mother suggested I call City Light and I said ahh, WSB will know way before City Light does.

    Is it just me or does it seem like the same places that were out for such a long time in the big wind storm a few years back?

  • j October 14, 2009 (7:49 pm)

    There were City Light trucks just north of the Alaska junction chopping up a tree about 20 minutes ago. Looked like they were doing something underground too.

  • Vanceg October 14, 2009 (7:53 pm)

    Just came back on at or hard street and California (near ladros)

  • Bobby October 14, 2009 (7:54 pm)

    Lights on Morgan junction area of Fauntleroy south west of California 7:53pm

  • BHJason October 14, 2009 (7:55 pm)

    Power is back at Bev Place

  • j October 14, 2009 (7:55 pm)

    Just got power, woot!

  • jsv888 October 14, 2009 (7:55 pm)

    Power on at highpoint.

  • B October 14, 2009 (7:56 pm)

    LIGHTS ON in Fairmount Springs, 3 blks south of Alaska Junction. Charge up your laptops and cell phones fast!

  • Vanceg October 14, 2009 (7:57 pm)

    To Coleen: yes, this does look like the same area that was down durin the big wind storm (though orchard St and a few others, if I recall correctly) were out longer than most during that outage, and here on orchard we just got power again. And I was just thinkin today ” I should check my generator and buy some more b100 for it”. Good motivation to go do that!

  • Lesley October 14, 2009 (7:58 pm)

    Nothing yet at gatewood. Frontenac and 41st.

  • KH October 14, 2009 (8:00 pm)

    Still off at 34th and Thistle. We were one of the last blocks to come back on after that windstorm a few years back.

    Note to self…move. LOL

  • Joyce October 14, 2009 (8:00 pm)

    On at 40th & Morgan

  • tom October 14, 2009 (8:06 pm)

    It’s an official disaster. King 5’s Parka reporter spied in the Junction dining on a burrito before hitting the dark streets

  • Lesley October 14, 2009 (8:07 pm)

    Seattle City Light truck just drove west down SW Frontenac toward Calif. Still no power here.

  • Sw October 14, 2009 (8:09 pm)

    41st & Holden is feelin’ the power.

  • MB October 14, 2009 (8:09 pm)

    Power just back on for 41st and Rose. Yea!

  • Blasty October 14, 2009 (8:09 pm)

    0mg power just came back here in High Point!!! w00t

  • Lesley October 14, 2009 (8:10 pm)

    Power just came back. Frontenac and 41st, gatewood.

  • KH October 14, 2009 (8:11 pm)

    (…in my best Scotty imitation)

    We’ve got full power at 34th and Thistle, captain!

  • WSEvelyn October 14, 2009 (8:15 pm)

    Was having dinner at Porterhouse near Admiral Theater. It was like someone stated before. Three flickers, but no outage. Feeling lucky…

  • Richard Hell October 14, 2009 (8:16 pm)

    Still no power at 46th and Maple. Coyotes at door. Can’t feel fingers. So sleepy . . .

  • miws October 14, 2009 (8:19 pm)

    Haven’t read through the comments yet to see if this has already been noted, but power came back on in the Thriftway block of California around 7:50-ish.

    .

    This seems to be another outage somewhat in the area that has been plagued off and on, since the December 2006 storm, when previously (lived here since May 2000) there were maybe only one or two outages that lasted more than just a few minutes.

    .

    Thanks to the City Light crews for a relatively quick (timewise) fix this time!

    .

    Mike

  • AP October 14, 2009 (8:20 pm)

    Anybody in the affected area still without Comcast cable? We are, near Gatewood Elementary.

  • Deb Barker October 14, 2009 (8:23 pm)

    FYI – The Kenny is still operating on reduced power and only the lights in the hallways are on reports my mother-in-law and Kenny resident Esther Anne Shaw. She is sitting in the dark in her room.

  • Lesley October 14, 2009 (8:23 pm)

    Thank you, WSB for great coverage!!! and thx to all posters!

  • K October 14, 2009 (8:24 pm)

    Still out fauntleroy & othello near 76 & Lincoln park area

  • 35thandRose October 14, 2009 (8:25 pm)

    Power back on near 35th and Sw Rose. Any word on the cause yet?

  • Barry October 14, 2009 (8:25 pm)

    Frontenac has partial power, but no power at Parshall.

  • wow October 14, 2009 (8:26 pm)

    Power back on on top of Thistle between 37th & 39th. Thank you Seattle City Light! Good practice run. We had all the flashlights and batteries but I learned that there were defects with all but 2 of the 6 light sources. Also had a tiny fire in the kitchen when a candle lit a plastic bag on fire. Thankfully got that under control myself. What a night! I am so grateful for power. And I would highly recommend having your laptop battery charged (mine was kaput) – and have a radio for next time. I am going to do all of that now!

  • WSB October 14, 2009 (8:27 pm)

    Wow, you have a great point – good practice run for winter. I’m buying more laptop batteries for starters (though #1 still had juice left when ours came back on). Meantime, I had just added this to the story atop the comments, but NO, no word on cause. That may take till tomorrow but I will continue to stay in touch with Seattle City Light media folks. And anyone who sees an SCL truck – if we find the heart of the outage, we may figure out the cause before “official” word comes! – TR

  • Evangeline October 14, 2009 (8:35 pm)

    Power came on about 15 minutes ago over here on 41st and Kenyon, :)

  • DrD October 14, 2009 (8:52 pm)

    Still no power east side of 6900 block California

  • Colleen October 14, 2009 (8:53 pm)

    Interesting…the “cable failure” I believe was the issue we we had the string of outages a few years ago for that area. Glad it’s back and I get to sleep in my own bed!

  • carter October 14, 2009 (8:55 pm)

    Just Great! The power outage somehow delayed set off my burglar alarm and the Seattle Police showed up! I feel bad they came out for no reason. Especially under stressful circumstances . . . .

  • WSB October 14, 2009 (8:58 pm)

    Thanks DrD, sorry to hear it, please let us know when it comes back.
    .
    Meantime, will be adding some more photos to the running coverage – WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli was out and about during the heart of the outage.
    .
    Thanks AGAIN to EVERYONE for updating what was happening where you are – this is what powered last year’s snowstorm coverage too and is priceless – the city may give very cursory “it’s out/it’s on” reports but detailed “what exactly is happening and where” can only come from you – thanks – TR

  • Hollyplace October 14, 2009 (9:01 pm)

    9:00 and still dark on holly place. My phone battery is dying too!

  • SarahScoot October 14, 2009 (9:02 pm)

    Ours is still out at Cal. & Mills. Power’s up north and south, but not in a few of these buildings in this stretch :-(

  • ha October 14, 2009 (9:11 pm)

    I am sure City Light is checking the blog to do their work too. Good job WSB and West Side folks!

  • stan cowlitz October 14, 2009 (9:21 pm)

    Kenney’s generators still shaking my windows. No power yet.

  • Kari October 14, 2009 (9:22 pm)

    Dear wsb. Thanx as always for providing us great reports! Here on south Fauntleroy & othello near 76 gas station still out of power.

  • Brian October 14, 2009 (9:25 pm)

    Lights just went OUT again at my place, 35th and Thistle.

    Only because I’m going to bed.

    “Click”

  • Buddy Lane October 14, 2009 (9:28 pm)

    looks as if City Light’s 9 pm estimate for return to normal was optimistic

  • SarahScoot October 14, 2009 (9:31 pm)

    Power *finally* back up in our building… I hope we were the last of the outages!

  • DrD October 14, 2009 (9:33 pm)

    As SarahScoot just said, 6900 block of California (@Mills) is restored.

  • DrD October 14, 2009 (9:57 pm)

    Also: the same area (east side of California from Frontenac to Willow — all condo/apartment buildings) did NOT suffer outages during the last two big ones, so I’m not complaining about an extra hour this time!

  • CB October 14, 2009 (10:10 pm)

    Cable failure does not surprise me. Several years ago when the power was out for a week due to the wind storm, I got frustrated and tracked down a local crew working in our neighborhood. I asked the crew when we could expect our power back… he said that the system in West Seattle is so old that every time they fix one problem something else blows. He went on to blame lack of any basic maintenance.

  • miws October 14, 2009 (10:14 pm)

    Yet again, WSB, with the help of Christopher, and all of the commenters, have proven what a valuable asset this site is to the community.

    .

    Having only a desktop for surfing the net, I can’t just pop in here whenever the power goes out, and find out what the heck is going on, but I can visit once the power comes back on, get updated, and read of others’ experiences.

    .

    Hollyplace, sorry to hear about your salmon dinner :( I lucked out, as I was having a salad for dinner. Had the bagel in the toaster when the power went out, but it was toasted just fine. I’d bet the toaster was about to pop anyway. Finished assembling dinner by the dwindling daylight, and enjoyed a nice, romantic, candlelit dinner.

    By myself. ;)

    .

    Mike

  • iggy October 14, 2009 (10:44 pm)

    The most frustrating thing for me is that when I signed up for Comcast Voice and ditched my Qwest, I was assured by Comcast that the phone would have a 3 to 8 hour battery backup that is built into their system. I’m talking about a landline phone that plugs into the old-fashioned wall jack. Within seconds of the electricity going out, the phone was dead. Happened to several friends who also have Comcast now instead of Qwest. These are not phones that are plugged into the electricity all, so frustrating. I do have a service call scheduled tomorrow from Comcast. If they can’t promise the battery backup will work, I’ll go back to “Ma Bell” Qwest.

  • Kari October 14, 2009 (11:22 pm)

    Dear WSB
    I thought I posted another comment but it appears I never clicked the button !

    Power is back as of around 9:30pm ( South of Fauntleroy – Lincoln park area) right after I posted the last note.

    Thanks guys for your great coverage !

  • WSB October 14, 2009 (11:27 pm)

    No problem – co-publisher Patrick happened to go back down the hill to check that location moments after it went back on so we got the news – but DIRECT reports from everyone ROCK the most – so thank YOU, and let’s all remember now to stock up on batteries, flashlights, etc. … just in case! TR

  • Jim October 15, 2009 (8:39 am)

    So what’s the story from City Light on the inability to report the outage?

  • wseye October 15, 2009 (4:54 pm)

    I’d like a better explanation of what happened. Did a vault full of cables flood, perhaps? Maybe that will give us an indication why WS gets so many poer outages.

  • WSB October 15, 2009 (5:00 pm)

    City Light has not answered my request for followup information. I am going to have to try them again tomorrow.

  • clark5080 October 16, 2009 (3:07 pm)

    iggy how bout an update as to what Comcast had to say about your service loss?

  • Jim October 16, 2009 (4:02 pm)

    Is City Light still unavailable to explain why we were not able to report the outage?

Sorry, comment time is over.