West Seattle, Washington
03 Friday
Just heard from a Seaview resident who is near 47th and Juneau and wondering if anyone else is experiencing brown water. If it happens to you, please be sure to contact Seattle Public Utilities at 206-386-1800 – causes can vary, from hydrant testing to water-system problems (nothing mapped currently).
If you’re having trouble with a CenturyLink (Lumen) phone line in West Seattle, you’re not alone. We’ve heard from multiple readers having trouble, and one told us the technician they saw this morning said they were the fourth customer they were seeing with the same problem. We don’t have any official info so far but when we hear from multiple readers experiencing a problem, it’s at least a “you’re not alone” occasion.
(WSB photos)
Though they’re working in the street, the crew along Fauntleroy Way east of California is part of the Morgan Junction EV-charging lot project. This is the first of about six weeks that they’re doing overnight work to run power cable across the street. Seattle City Light has said the work will not require a full closure of Fauntleroy at any point; they’re working four nights a week, Mondays through Thursdays, 7 pm to 4 am, with flaggers as needed.
City Light says, “They expect to complete excavation and restoration across Fauntleroy by the end of April. Crews will cover the work area with steel plates outside of work hours. These plates are safe to drive on.” The project has contractor Zenisco turning an old substation site at 4118 SW Morgan into an eight-space EV-fast-charging lot – yes, drivers will pay for the power – expected to open by late summer.
9:22 PM: Also happening on Alki right now, SFD is dealing with a gas leak at a residential building in the 1200 block of Alki SW [map]. They’re evacuating at least part of the building, firefighters told dispatch. Puget Sound Energy has just arrived, they also said.
10:33 PM: SFD is closing out its response.
4:21 PM: More news from Highland Park Way hill today – this time, a power outage. More than 2,000 customers are out after, according to a 911 dispatch, tree limb(s) fell on wires at Highland Park Way and Othello. Updates to come.
4:38 PM: SCL confirms “tree/vegetation” as the cause.
5:24 PM: Thanks to Kay Kirkpatrick for the photo! City Light crews are on the scene clearing branches, she reports.
5:26 PM: And moments later, we’re getting reports of restoration. The SCL map shows everyone’s back on.
11:33 AM: Thanks to Kersti for the tip and photo. SFD and SPD crews are at California/Graham right now for what’s logged as a gas-leak response.
11:49 AM: The response, logged for a residential address just west of the intersection, is wrapping up. We’re following up with SFD.
12:51 PM: Here’s SFD’s wrapup, via spokesperson Kaila Lafferty: “At 10:50 a.m., crews were dispatched to a report of a natural gas leak on the exterior of a residence at 44th Ave SW & SW Graham St. Crews arrived and detected levels of natural gas. Puget Sound Energy responded and secured the leak. Crews returned to service by 12:02 p.m. No injuries reported.”
9:52 AM: Thanks for the tips. More than 300 customers have lost power in the area where Seattle City Light’s long-awaited Brace Point project is under way, meant to lessen problems with underground cabling that have long led to power outages in the area. No word yet on the cause of today’s outage; one resident reports hearing a “bang” around the time it started ~9:10 am. (Though the SCL map currently projects restoration this afternoon, keep in mind that projected restoration times are only guesses and it could be sooner, or later.)
11:26 AM: 164 still out. The map says the cause was “action by others.” SCL spokesperson Jenn Strang elaborates, “Yes, this is related to construction activities in the area. A fuse on a terminal pole was affected resulting in the unplanned outage. ”
1:50 PM: Map shows the original 319 total out again (which sometimes happens during restoration work).
10:14 PM: 70 customers are still out after 13 hours.
10:19 AM: Thanks for the tips – multiple readers say Xfinity has confirmed an outage in north West Seattle affecting, at last report, up to 2,000 customers, reported to be affecting internet and TV, with the cause listed as “network damage.”
12:44 PM: Commenter “Onion” says below that their service resumed about 10 minutes ago.
Bill reports brown water in Arbor Heights, vicinity of SW 99th and 39th SW. No incidents currently on the Seattle Public Utilities trouble map. Any time you notice this, the SPU number to call is 206-386-1800. It can sometimes be a sign of as-yet-unreported trouble with a nearby line, but it also can be a result of SFD testing a nearby hydrant.
Since Seattle City Light told us Monday that work would start at the Morgan Junction EV-charging lot site this week, we’ve been checking there daily to see whether that would indeed happen. No signs of activity Tuesday – but we just went by again today and spotted the new NO TRESPASSING sign above, as well as tubes labeled as project-document storage:
(The labels read Traffic Control Plan, Permits, Construction Stormwater and Erosion Control Plan, Construction Drainage Plans, and Electrical Permit.) No work crew at the site currently but we’ll go back to check tomorrow. SCL says it’s expecting the eight-charger site at 4118 SW Morgan – originally planned for 2022 – to be operational this August.
(WSB photo of future EV lot, last November)
For everyone watching for signs of construction at Morgan Junction’s future city-operated EV-charging lot site, you won’t have to wait much longer – Seattle City Light says on-site work is finally about to begin. SCL spokesperson Jenn Strang says contractor Zenisco Inc. “will begin work at the … site this week.” She adds, “We currently anticipate the chargers will be operational in August 2026.” Eight chargers are planned for the lot, on the site of a long-ago SCL substation kittycorner across SW Morgan from West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor). We first reported on the project almost four years ago, at which the utility had hoped to start work within a year. We’re asking for any construction notice that might have gone to neighbors with details also helpful to people who drive, ride, and walk in that area, as well as any new details about one component of construction expected to require trenching on Fauntleroy Way, north of the site.
Seattle Public Utilities just sent the reminder – this is the last week for “free” composting of Christmas trees and other holiday greenery – either via curbside pickup, or transfer-station dropoff:
Remove all decorations, cut into sections 4-foot or less, and place trees or bundled greens next to your Food & Yard Waste cart on your regular collection day. Apartment residents may place up to two trees next to each Food & Yard waste cart at no charge. You can also drop off up to 3 trees less than 8 feet in length at a Transfer Station.
The “free” tree-cycling continues through Saturday (January 31). After that, you’ll have to chop up your tree so it fits in your yard/food-waste cart, or take it to the transfer station (South, in west South Park, is the closest)
Jake reports brown water near 37th SW and SW 99th. Nothing on the Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map. As always, the reminder – if this happens at your home/business, call SPU at 206-386-1800. (One frequent explanation is hydrant testing, which SFD does as time allows, but that seems unlikely on a freezing night.(
Last week, we had two reports of brown water in Seaview; this morning, one in Admiral, near Hiawatha. No water-service troubles reported in the area, per this Seattle Public Utilities map, but sometimes this can be an early hint of one, so it should always be reported to SPU at 206-386-1800. (Another cause is SFD hydrant testing, though that would seem unlikely on a freezing morning.)
Two notes about Seattle City Light electric-vehicle charging in West Seattle:
(WSB photo, one of two current chargers on 39th SW, shown in October)
TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF JUNCTION STATION: Starting tomorrow (Tuesday), the two-charger station on 39th SW near West Seattle Bowl will be closed for about a week, according to this announcement we received from SCL:
City Light will replace the two existing 50 kW DC fast chargers with newer 62.5 kW ChargePoint chargers beginning January 13 with anticipated closure of at least 1 week. This projected timeline may change based on weather and site conditions. Please plan for alternative charging during this time as both charging stations will be unavailable.
The project website says this is a prelude to a full-site replacement later this year, to “change the current site layout” and further upgrade the chargers. The station was built in 2020 and has had recurring problems with theft/vandalism in the ensuing years.
(November photo of Morgan Junction site)
MORGAN JUNCTION EV LOT STATUS: Meantime, City Light has not yet started work at the eight-charger EV lot site in Morgan Junction. Last fall, City Light revised the expected start date of construction multiple times. It’ll likely be a topic at the upcoming quarterly meeting of the Morgan Community Association on January 21st, so we asked SCL spokesperson Jenn Strang if there’s a chance it’ll be under construction by then. Her reply:
The current status of the project is that we are in the pre-construction submittal phase with the contractor. This process includes reviewing and approving requirements such as the safety and environmental plans. It is vital to ensure public safety before starting construction. The official start date of construction will be set once all the required approvals have been obtained.
When we first reported on the charging-lot plan in 2022, the utility was saying construction could start by the end of that year.
Ashlee reports “very brown water” in Seaview, near 50th and Hudson. No incidents on the Seattle Public Utilities map, no major SFD incidents in the area, so we offered the usual advice – report to SPU at 206-386-1800.
Thanks to the texter who sent that dashcam video along with an alert about the lane closure it shows, at “the curve” that’s been the location of more than a few crashes, toward the southwest end of the westbound West Seattle Bridge. We’re not finding an official traffic alert about it, but given the presence of at least one Seattle City Light truck, it could be work related to the crash the other night that brought down a pole at the pullout (we’ll check with SCL in the morning). In the meantime, if you’ll be headed that way, or know someone who will, caution is advised.
8:43 AM: Thanks for the tips. Seattle City Light says 230 customers have lost their power in the Lowman Beach area. One texter says they “heard a giant boom of a transformer going out” just before the power went away.
8:53 AM: SFD responded to a “smoldering” utility pole by Lowman Beach about 15 minutes before the power loss, according to archived radio, and firefighters were there when the subsequent explosion took out wires, leading to the outage. fro
9:40 AM: A texter in the area says the pole – which is along the sidewalk bordering the park’s street side – is still smoldering; smoke can be seen in their video, which also shows that crews are at the scene.
9:55 AM: They report the crews told them the pole will have to be replaced and that’ll take “a while.”
(Photo sent by Trileigh Tucker)
1 PM: Not restored yet.
1:59 PM: Thanks to the commenters who reported they’re back on as of just before 1:30 pm.
P.S. Some were wondering how the outage affected the Murray Wet Weather Facility across the street from the park (it’s a stormwater-overflow storage facility, not a treatment facility). It lost power but was never without power, per spokesperson Akiko Oda, because its generator kicked in automatically.
5:48 PM: More than 4,900 homes and businesses are out of power right now, mostly in northwest West Seattle. Not sure yet about what’s to blame – multiple trees have just been reported down, including one at California/Alaska in The Junction blocking part of northbound California.
(Thanks to Amy for the photo – she says “It hit a row of Lime bikes but nothing else”)
(Added: WSB photo by Oliver Hamlin, showing the aforementioned Lime bikes)
Updates to come.
5:54 PM: Police radio indicates the outage is likely related to a tree down in the Admiral area. (Exactly where, we don’t know – nothing telltale on the SFD or SPD logs.) You’ve probably noticed the wind kicking up big time this evening – the National Weather Service did not have our area under an alert for that, though.
6:20 PM: The wind has calmed somewhat, at least up here.
6:42 PM: A commenter points out that the NWS has belatedly posted a Wind Advisory alert, timestamped 6:10 pm, in effect until midnight.
7:41 PM: Several notes/comments suggest this originated somewhere in this area uphill from south Alki.
7:57 PM: Our archives say this is the 15th West Seattle outage this year affecting 100 or more customers. Half were blamed on falling trees. We also had a few caused by drivers hitting poles, an unfortunate bird, an unexplained pole fire, and the most recent one before this, 3,000 customers on November 23, was blamed on “a broken cross-arm.”
8:43 PM: Still out. Remember, don’t open your refrigerator/freezer – the air temp will stay low for hours. How many hours? Here’s the federal advice.
9:51 PM: No updates; fifth hour now. The customers out in West Seattle are now more than two-thirds of those out SCL-wide.
10:03 PM: Yma points out in comments that the Wind Advisory has been extended to 3 am. It’s also now suggesting top gusts could reach 55 mph, 10 mph above the previous forecast.
10:50 PM: Saw a flicker, hoped it meant some were getting restored, and indeed, the SCL map says the power’s back on for most. Fewer than 100 are still shown as out.
ADDED MONDAY: City Light tells us they think tree limbs took out the power but were unable to zero in on exactly where.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“This is urgent.” That’s how Seattle City Light leaders summarized what they say the utility needs to deal with challenges both new and longrunning.
The briefing for the Sustainability, City Light, Arts and Culture Committee this morning (starting 45 minutes into the video above) was meant to answer questions such as “why so many power outages” – they acknowledged outages are more numerous, and longer, than their target numbers. But they only discussed the 40 percent of outages they say are caused by infrastructure problems such as equipment failure. “We need to focus on not being the cause of our own outages,” declared City Light CEO Dawn Lindell.
To get to that point, City Light reps said, it will cost almost three and a half billion dollars. They say SCL is still suffering from “historically underfunded and deferred maintenance,” staff cuts, and other problems dating back to money woes from the 2001 Enron scandal.
One of the biggest points of failure: Direct-buried underground cables. That’s the kind currently being replaced in Brace Point; SCl says it has 330 miles of it but they’ve been replacing it so slowly, some of it could be more than a century old before they ever get to it.
Above ground, problems include various components that tend to fail, including lots of small parts with a big impact on reliability. Replacement of such parts has to accelerate to three times the current rate, said Andrew Strong, the City Light executive who did most of the talking. He added that, as seen in other states, transmission-line trouble can spark fires, which are not only devastating to victims, but costly to those culpable – he mentioned one utility’s multi-billion-dollar settlement.
Then there’s the issue of capacity. The demand on the system keeps increasing – the Port of Seattle, alone, for example, needs a new substation because of electrification – ships, trucks, etc.
So City Light is facing building a new substation on Harbor Island that will cost around a half-billion dollars. And they might need a new substation for the south part of their service area (which stretches into Burien). The other potential factors that could increase future demand on the system were listed as including Sound Transit light rail, bus electrification, University of Washington expansion, and new data centers (they have seen proposals for at least five).
In addition to the natural increase of cost with time, City Light – like so many other organizations and companies – is dealing with the uncertainties of tariffs. And a shortage in personnel – Strong said they don’t have enough engineers, field crews, etc., to meet increasing demand. They need technology upgrades too, added Lindell: “Electricity moves at the speed of light,” so they need technology that does, too. (She said that would be the subject of a future presentation.)
So where will the $3.4 billion come from? Some, from rates, the City Light executives readily acknowledged. And that includes a careful analysis of the big customers, they said, ensuring “the right rate burden” falls on “the right customer.”
Back to the topic of outages, there was one brief mention of remedying the tree-vs-line conflicts that have been to blame for so many in areas like ours. Though the old-style direct-buried underground cables are a source of trouble now, modern undergrounding can solve some problems, and is being explored for some areas, they said. (We’ll be following up on that.)
Today’s discussion was just a briefing, nothing to be voted on, so after questions (Councilmember Dan Strauss was very interested in the technical points), it ended, Here’s the full slide deck from which we pulled a few individual graphics shown above.
11:10 AM: Thanks for the tip. SFD has three units at the scene of a natural-gas leak in the 4000 block of 42nd SW [vicinity map] and are calling for police to block 42nd between Andover and Dakota. The leaking line was described over emergency radio as “nickel-sized.” They’re evacuating neighboring homes as a precaution.
11:27 AM: Puget Sound Energy has stopped the leak, so SFD and SPD are clearing, and 42nd will reopen.
ORIGINAL SATURDAY REPORT: Thanks to the reader who texted the photo and report of crews replacing this utility pole in the 6600 block of Fauntleroy Way SW [vicinity map]. It was reported hit by a driver at 2:30 am; we heard the dispatch but the pole was not initially reported compromised, the street was not reported blocked, and the driver was reported unhurt. Reviewing subsequent radio exchanges, police were investigating the driver for possible DUI.
ADDED MONDAY: We confirmed with police that the 27-year-old man driving the car that hit the pole, a 2025 Audi, was arrested on suspicion of DUI. According to the police-report narrative, he was alone in the car and unable to tell them where he had been coming from and where he was living or staying; he had a Washington, D.C. driver license and gave what appears to be a South Park addressed when also asked where he was going, though he was driving in the opposite direction. The officer writing the report also noted he “had no shirt on.”
10:48 AM: Two readers have reported water trouble on 16th SW, though nothing is listed on the Seattle Public Utilities map as either a current or restored outage. One says their water’s out; another reports crews working near Myrtle. We’ll be heading over for a look.
(Added: WSB photo)
12:06 PM: No crew on 16th now, but fresh-looking patches and water on the street are in view just north of Myrtle.
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