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POWER OUTAGE UPDATES: 370+ customers in Gatewood, Upper Fauntleroy; 4,100+ restored in Shorewood, WC; new outage along part of Roxbury
February 18, 2018 2:59 pm
|      26 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | Gatewood | Utilities | West Seattle news

2:59 PM: First significant power outage in West Seattle since the weather got blustery on Friday – more than 150 customers in Gatewood and Upper Fauntleroy, including WSB HQ, per the City Light outage map. More to come.

3:09 PM: The cause isn’t listed yet but the restoration guesstimate is 9 pm – as always, we caution that it can be fixed a lot sooner (like that recent 1 1/2-hour outage) or much later. Meantime, a much-bigger outage has just happened in the White Center/Shorewood/north Burien area – 4,100+ customers:

4:04 PM: SCL blames the White Center-and-beyond fire on a tree. Meanwhile, we’re checking out a brush-fire call in west Gatewood that’s blamed on downed wires – we don’t know if it’s related to the outage but it’s not far. Separate coverage here.

4:23 PM: As noted in comments, the big outage to the south has been resolved, as verified by the SCL map. The outage east of Lincoln Park, not yet.

5:53 PM: New outage as of a little over an hour ago – two pockets on SW Roxbury in the 26th/28th area, and we’re told that is affecting Roxbury Safeway. We’ll be checking there in a bit.

6:46 PM: Roxbury Safeway has some power inside but cold cases are covered and there’s no external lighting. Meantime, the outage in our HQ area, east of and uphill from Lincoln Park, is now listed as 371 customers. Still a 9 pm restoration guesstimate, but no cause – the wires-down fire is likely related.

9:34 PM: Still in the outage zone but we did see a couple City Light trucks a few blocks away while we were on our way back here a short time ago. The restoration guesstimate has been pushed back to ~1:29 am but please remember, it’s not based on anything scientific, as City Light itself will tell you, so it’s just a guess. Some important things to remember:

-It’s cold but in trying to stay warm, you need to follow carbon-monoxide-safety rules.

-Wondering about the safety of food in your refrigerator? Read the FDA advice and guidelines.

2 AM: Our power came back on around 1:30. Now there’s a new 90-customer outage along Walnut.

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UPDATE: ‘Vault fire’ blamed for West Seattle, White Center power outage
February 11, 2018 7:17 pm
|      39 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

FIRST REPORT, 7:17 PM: Getting word of a power outage in Westwood and South Delridge. More to come.

7:19 PM: Hearing from Highland Park and White Center too. And the SFD log says it’s a vault fire at 22nd and Roxbury.

7:26 PM: On our way to check out the fire scene. Meantime, we’d suggest avoiding Roxbury in that area. And remember that dark stoplights are all-way stops. More than 3,000 customers are out, according to the City Light map.

7:39 PM: Roxbury is blocked by the emergency response, which is near Holy Family. Our crew just arrived in the area. SFD is investigating smoke coming up from a utility-hole cover. For those asking what a “vault fire” means – “vault” in this case is an underground installation of utility equipment.

7:43 PM: The fire is apparently not huge – some units are being dismissed. The City Light restoration estimate is 2 am but PLEASE remember, as we always point out in outage situations (and as SCL itself acknowledges), that is just a guess … could be back on much sooner, or much later.

7:49 PM: Our crew just checked on the detours. If you are headed east, you’ll be rerouted at 21st/Roxbury; if you’re headed west, you’ll be rerouted at 17th and Roxbury.

8:01 PM: We also checked on Westwood Village businesses – the QFC to Marshall’s side is all/mostly out, but other businesses are on. Will also be checking on downtown White Center, which is in the outage zone too, per SCL’s map.

8:14 PM: Per comments, texts, and firsthand sightings in the field, we have word at least some have their power back already. SCL’s map says the outage is down to 1,300+ customers, less than half the initial number.

8:35 PM: As shown on the updated map above, almost everyone still out is south of Roxbury. That includes downtown White Center:

We’d heard police say via scanner that they had been told they could reopen Roxbury. We’ve also just seen a tweet that Route 560 is no longer rerouted off Roxbury – we’re heading back to the zone to verify.

8:41 PM: Just checked the SCL map and it shows just about everyone back on. If you are NOT – please be sure SCL knows – 206-684-3000. Thanks again to everyone for the updates, including first word of the outage – 206-293-6302 is our breaking-news hotline, 24/7.

9:24 PM: We did verify that Roxbury is open again; when we went through, the 16th/Roxbury signal was in flashing-red mode, though, so another reminder, that means stop all ways.

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Water-break repair work on 35th SW north of Fauntleroy
January 27, 2018 6:03 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

6:03 PM: Thanks for the tip about a water break on 35th SW north of Fauntleroy. Just went to check; the crew is working on the NB side of the road, directing traffic 1 lane at a time, and expects to be there a few hours.

SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: Checked back to be sure the road was fully open again. It is.

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UPDATE: Water trouble in east West Seattle Junction area, fixed
January 24, 2018 6:22 am
|      38 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

6:22 AM: We have reports of low water pressure in the area of 40th SW between SW Oregon and SW Alaska. One reader says they’ve called Seattle Public Utilities and were told there’s a water break. On our way to check.

(Photo posted in comments by Mark)

6:39 AM: No crew on site right now but the water is flowing on the east side of the street, southward toward SW Alaska from the vicinity of a hydrant at midblock. No traffic effects.

(WSB photos from here down)

7:53 AM: Neighbors report in comments that a crew is there now.

10:13 AM: As commenters reported, LA Fitness (sign above) is indeed closed – we just went by to verify. They hope to reopen by mid-afternoon. And 40th is closed between Oregon and Alaska because of the work.

11:16 AM: We also just got a text that Sound and Fog – which is across SW Alaska on 40th – is also closed because of the water break. If you know of any other businesses affected, please let us know – we’re making phone calls in the meantime, but unlike a power outage, there’s no information on the exact area affected, so we’re just making guesses for starters. (added) We just checked with West Seattle Bowl, for example, right next door to Spruce (the building that houses LA Fitness) – the bowling alley and its restaurant DO have water.

11:36 AM: Across the Fauntleroy/Alaska intersection, The Whittaker (WSB sponsor) tells us they’re without water, but we need to check individually on how/whether that’s affecting the businesses in their building. (added) We called CityMD, which says they’re closed to walk-in patients until the water’s back on, but you can call to make appointments.

12:07 PM: SPU’s Andy Ryan tells us the water “should be back on for customers by 1 pm. Crews will do some flushing to minimize the dirty water caused by the shutdown, and will remain at the jobsite this afternoon, completing the repairs on the hydrant.”

1:30 PM: A commenter says water is back on at Spruce.

2:33 PM: Sound & Fog has reopened. So has 40th SW. The signs were off the door at LA Fitness but we have to head back that way to send someone in to verify that they’re operational.

3:24 PM: LA Fitness confirms it’s open again too.

4:07 PM: And last but by no means least, SPU’s Ingrid Goodwin has answered some followup questions:

What happened? We strongly suspect that a car hit the hydrant based on where it broke and the force needed to cause the type of damage that occurred (damage occurred to critical hydrant parts that were underground).

Why did the water main have to be shut down? Normally, crews can simply shut off the hydrant valve to make the repair. But because the hydrant valve was damaged, they were forced to shut off the water main to stop the break, which unfortunately led to temporary water shutoff for customers.

Why so much damage? The hydrant that was hit was very old, installed about 40 or 50 years ago. The types of hydrants SPU has been installing for quite a while are “break-away” hydrants that are designed to break away or withstand being struck by vehicles. The new hydrant that was installed today is a break-away hydrant.

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SEEP STOPPED: Action finally taken at chronic water-on-road spot at California/Orchard
January 19, 2018 9:53 pm
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   Safety | Utilities | West Seattle news

That long-running sight at California and Orchard in Gatewood – water (or ice, on the December day we photographed it) on the road, coming from the southeast corner – may finally be a thing of the past. It’s been a problem for some time – you can even see it in Google Street View from last fall. Some neighbors contended that it had to be a pipe break of some time, but Seattle Public Utilities investigated and was adamant that its tests showed it was groundwater. That assessment even wound up marked on the sidewalk at the corner:

SPU says it’s a “seep” like so many others around the city, from a water source in the ground – springs, for example. You’ve probably seen them in other spots around West Seattle; one that comes to mind is along California Way between Harbor SW and Hamilton Viewpoint. SPU told us they’ve identified more than 150 “surfacing groundwater” spots around the city, and shared this map:

SDOT and SPU have been collaborating to investigate trouble spots like these, though even once they’ve been identified, finding a way to fix it – and/or the money to do so – can be a challenge.

In the California/Orchard case, neighbors had been working with City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, insisting something had to be done about the chronic water on the road, which also was leading to moss/algae growth on the sidewalk. Initially, the city said all it could do was be sure that SDOT salted/sanded the spot when it froze over. But then came a breakthrough, Herbold reported this week: “Drainage and Wastewater operations staff discovered an abandoned stormwater pipe. This allowed SPU to correct the problem of the water collection because they could use the abandoned stormwater pipe as a connection to newly route the water away from the street surface.” She added that, “The observations of residents in this area monitoring the occurrence of this accumulation of water was critical to the identification of a solution.”

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UTILITY-WORK ALERT: 45th SW closure by Madison Middle School
January 15, 2018 6:37 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

For much of the rest of the week, 45th Avenue SW by Madison Middle School – between SW Hinds and SW Spokane – will be closed to all vehicle traffic but school buses. Seattle Public Utilities says it’s a sewer-repair project, and should be complete by the end of the week. They’ve distributed flyers along the street and talked with the school, but just in case you’re a 45th user who is outside that notification scope, this is an FYI. (Thanks to the person who tipped us to this!)

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UPDATE: SFD response at Westwood Village, electrical problem cited
January 15, 2018 4:57 pm
|    Comments Off on UPDATE: SFD response at Westwood Village, electrical problem cited
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | Westwood

4:57 PM: A texter told us about a “smell of smoke” at Westwood Village Barnes and Noble just as SFD was dispatching four units that way. They’ve arrived and so far have NOT found a fire but are checking it out as an electrical problem, so they’re calling for City Light (whose map shows some power trouble in the area).

5:16 PM: SFD cited a “widespread” electrical problem, which we’re also hearing about from some in the area, so we’re headed to WWV shortly to check.

5:43 PM: Just spun around WWV. B&N was the only store clearly dark & closed.

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UPDATE: Water-main break north of Lincoln Park
December 30, 2017 10:20 am
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

10:20 AM: Having water-pressure trouble – or no water – near Lincoln Park? The photo shows the scene of a water break at Lincoln Park Way and 47th SW. It’s from Kersti, one of several people who have contacted us to let us know about the problem. Seattle Public Utilities has been alerted. (Any time you have a water problem – low pressure, no pressure, discoloration, etc. – the hotline to call is 206-386-1800.)

10:40 AM: Just talked with SPU spokesperson Andy Ryan. He says the break is in an 8-inch cast-iron water main, and there’s no estimated time for repairs yet, but they’re working on it. It’s affecting about 32 “services” – a “service” can have multiple customers, and those affected by this include nearby retirement center The Kenney. Three hydrants are affected, too.

2:03 PM: We just stopped by the scene (photos added above and below). The crew tells us it could be another “two to three hours” because once they finish repairing the line, they’ll have to flush it.

3:34 PM: Commenter SA reports the water’s back on.

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TREE-CYCLING: Here’s how to turn your Christmas tree into compost
December 26, 2017 5:14 pm
|    Comments Off on TREE-CYCLING: Here’s how to turn your Christmas tree into compost
 |   Environment | Holidays | Utilities | West Seattle news

Again this year, Seattle Public Utilities is giving you more than a month to get your Christmas tree turned into compost – either via curbside pickup, or Transfer Station dropoff. Today’s announcement:

From Dec. 26, 2017, to Jan. 31, 2018, Seattle residents can compost holiday greens, including wreaths and trees, for free curbside or at a Seattle Public Utilities transfer station.

At the Curb

Place your holiday greens on the curb next to your food and yard waste cart on your collection day. Please keep in mind the following:

Remove all decorations and lights, tinsel, metal clips, ornaments and bows.
Trees must be cut into lengths to 4-feet or shorter.
Bundle each section with sisal string or twine (not plastic).
Flocked and plastic trees or wreaths will be charged as extra garbage.

At apartments, one tree may be placed next to each food and yard waste cart at no extra charge each collection day.

At the Transfer Station

Bring Christmas trees and other holiday greens to a city transfer station. Starting Feb. 1, 2018 regular fees will apply.

Trees should not exceed 8-feet in length and must be free of decoration.
Trunks should not exceed 4-inches in diameter.
The stations will accept up to 3 trees per vehicle.

The South Transfer Station is just east of West Seattle, 130 S. Kenyon (here’s how to get there).

P.S. And remember that for the next two weeks, curbside pickup day for everything is one day later than your usual day, because of the Monday holidays.

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VIDEO: Brown water in West Seattle Junction area
December 23, 2017 10:54 am
|      21 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

10:54 AM: The video is from Heather, one of several people who have messaged us this morning with word of brown water in the West Seattle Junction area. As noted here before, it’s important to report brown water to Seattle Public Utilities at 206-386-1800 – Heather’s family did and reports that SPU says it’s because of fire-hydrant testing in the area. Here’s the general SPU advice about what to do if your water is discolored; you might recall SPU’s West Seattle flushing operations last year, an effort to get rust out of the pipes before it’s stirred up by hydrant use or pipe breaks.

12:28 PM: Despite the initial report blaming hydrant testing, it now seems there’s a water break – both Eddie via e-mail (including the photo below) and TTT via comments are reporting it.

We have a call out to SPU.

1:14 PM: Just talked to SPU’s Andy Ryan. He says they’re still working to figure out exactly where the break is – so far they think it’s possibly an 8-inch water line, and they’ve “throttled” water in the area so that what’s coming up at 48th/Alaska should be down to a trickle. In addition to the people reporting discolored water, he says six customers in the area are without service right now.

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What Seattle City Light will do in south Arbor Heights to prevent more power outages
December 21, 2017 3:00 pm
|    Comments Off on What Seattle City Light will do in south Arbor Heights to prevent more power outages
 |   Arbor Heights | Utilities | West Seattle news

In case you missed last week’s community meeting about the recent Arroyos/south Arbor Heights power outage and related trouble – what you see above is the slide deck explaining what Seattle City Light has planned for the area. A project spanning multiple blocks of South Arbor Heights is expected to last about a year and scheduled to start next March. (The slide deck includes a map you can also see here.) SCL says it’ll be putting in “new electrical conduit and cables” to replace “underground, direct buried cables (that) are approaching the ending of their life.” Besides this month’s outage, the area’s relatively recent outages included last April, August 2016, and May 2016.

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HOLIDAY CHANGES: Trash, recycling pickup days will shift for next 2 weeks
December 20, 2017 9:36 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

With Christmas Day and New Year’s Day on the next two Mondays, trash, recycling, and yard-waste pickup days will change for the next two weeks. Here’s the announcement, hust in from Seattle Public Utilities:

Due to back-to-back Monday holidays, all garbage, food and yard waste and recycling in Seattle will be delayed by one day for a duration of two weeks, starting Monday, Dec. 25, 2017.

There will be no solid waste collections on Monday, Dec. 25, 2017 and Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. Collections will be delayed by one day from normal schedules (e.g. collections for Monday will occur on Tuesday, Tuesday collections will occur on Wednesday, and so on). Customers should set containers out by 7 a.m. to ensure collection.

Customers can report missed garbage, food and yard waste, or recycling collections after 5 p.m. on their rescheduled collection day by calling (206) 684-3000, or filling out a report at www.seattle.gov/util/MissedCollection.

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WEST SEATTLE POWER OUTAGE: 140+ customers in Delridge
December 13, 2017 11:42 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Utilities | West Seattle news

11:42 AM: Seattle City Light is investigating a power outage that started about 15 minutes ago in Delridge – the map shows two spots, one on SW Holden just west of Delridge, with most of the 140+ affected customers in what appears to be the West Ridge Park complex at Delridge/Kenyon. No word yet how it started; the current restoration estimate is mid-afternoon.

12:07 PM: Ken points out in a comment that a crash appears to be to blame – the SFD 911 log does show a “wires down” call a short time earlier in the 2200 block of SW Holden – and also says the Westhaven Apartments are affected.

2:42 PM: Just checked; outage continues, and restoration is now projected for after 7 pm.

10:27 PM: Debbie reports in comments that power was restored about half an hour ago. The SCL map still shows a few customers out.

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ARROYOS/ARBOR HEIGHTS OUTAGE AFTERMATH: Seattle City Light plans community meeting Thursday
December 12, 2017 4:50 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Arbor Heights | Utilities | West Seattle news

Weekend before last, more than 100 homes in The Arroyos and South Arbor Heights lost power. The unrelated but concurrent Trader Joe’s outage overshadowed it in our headlines, but it’s not the first time an equipment problem took out the power for southwesternmost West Seattle, and so Seattle City Light is having a community meeting Thursday to answer questions and explain “future electrical infrastructure upgrades” in that area. Bring your questions/concerns to the meeting at 6:30 pm Thursday (December 14th) at Westside School (10404 34th SW; WSB sponsor).

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Water break in Arbor Heights
December 11, 2017 11:14 am
|    Comments Off on Water break in Arbor Heights
 |   Arbor Heights | Utilities | West Seattle news

(Added: WSB photo, SPU crew wrapping up work around 11:40 am)

Thanks for the tip: We just checked with Seattle Public Utilities about a reported water break in Arbor Heights. SPU says a 4-inch main broke and water was welling up in the 11400 block of 35th SW. They “partially closed a valve to reduce the flow” while making repairs; water should be returning to the 58 homes and four hydrants that were temporarily affected.

P.S. If you have water problems, such as no service or discoloration, 206-386-1800 is the SPU hotline. And thanks for then letting us know too, so we can check on the big picture of what’s going on.

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FOLLOWUP: West Seattle Trader Joe’s open again after 4-day power-outage closure
December 6, 2017 9:04 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Triangle | Utilities | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | West Seattle Trader Joe's

Photo added 9:36 am

The West Seattle Trader Joe’s store was expected to reopen this morning after its four-day power outage ended last night, and indeed, multiple WSB readers report, it did. The outage started very early Saturday after a suspected DUI driver rolled his car into the transformer and other equipment on the north side of the store at 4545 Fauntleroy Way SW; City Light told WSB that its part of the repairs were completed by Saturday night but other equipment belonging to the store had to be fixed before they could reconnect, and that took until last night. (While any prolonged closure of a business would be news, this store holds a special place in West Seattle lore due to the many years community members clamored for it, a long wait that finally ended when the conversion of a former car-sales business was completed with the store’s opening in April 2012.)

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STILL OUT OF POWER: West Seattle Trader Joe’s closure continues
December 5, 2017 11:12 am
|      18 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle Trader Joe's

11:12 AM: Just in case you were wondering, West Seattle Trader Joe’s (4545 Fauntleroy Way SW) remains closed, without power for a fourth day since a suspected drunk driver rolled his car and damaged electrical equipment on the west side of the building. Seattle City Light told us on Monday that their crew repaired their part of the equipment by Saturday evening, and they’re ready to reconnect when the company finishes fixing equipment that it owns. We haven’t yet reached a company spokesperson to get more on that.

TUESDAY EVENING: The power is back on and the anonymous-but-knowledgeable commenter who has been providing updates says the store’s expected to reopen Wednesday morning.

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UPDATE: Water break closes 35th SW south of Avalon for 11 hours; privately owned line to blame, SPU says
December 4, 2017 6:18 pm
|      53 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(5:41 AM UPDATE: 35th now reopened both ways)

6:18 PM: Thanks to everyone who’s been messaging us about what they’re describing as gushing water on the road at 35th/Avalon on this rainless night. We are on the way over to find out more.

6:34 PM: This is BIG water gushing from southbound 35th just south of Avalon. SFD is here and closing 35th between Avalon and Alaska. Avoid the area.

6:44 PM: Firefighters have also closed the sidewalks to keep people far away – they’re worried this could lead to a big sinkhole in the street. SPU has arrived. We have a message out to find out what more they know. We also hear there’s low water pressure at some residences nearby.

7:05 PM: This is going to go on a while. Full complement of utilities here now – Puget Sound Energy (there’s been concern about natural-gas odor around the KFC), Seattle City Light, as well as SPU. Again, 35th is blocked off between Alaska and Avalon, but before that happened, here’s video from @jetreset showing how it looked when a C Line bus went through the water (which is right by the southbound stop on 35th):

7:23 PM: Just talked with SPU spokesperson Andy Ryan. He says what broke is a 4-inch “service line” that belongs to the adjacent apartment building (which would be Aura) – “it’s not city infrastructure.”

The building is only a year old.

Ryan added, “We have the water main shut down between Avalon and Manning while crews look for the water shutoff valve.” Repairs might not be complete before midnight, he says.

7:43 PM: Buses have been rerouted for a while since the road remains closed (and the water’s still bubbling up on the southbound side), but here’s the official Metro reroute alert just texted/tweeted:


7:55 PM: The water’s not off yet, but the volume is down. Kevin tells us water service is off to the south of here, too, near 36th/Edmunds.

8:14 PM: Water’s down to a trickle.

SFD has left, but SPD is still at the scene to keep the road closure enforced. We’ve left for a while but will keep checking on the status of the road – and we’ll start our morning traffic coverage earlier than usual with word on whether that section of road is open or not.

10:07 PM: Street’s still closed, and heavy equipment’s now at work digging:

SDOT quotes SPD via Twitter as saying the closure will continue “until tomorrow morning.” No police left at the scene for us to ask in person – just the work crew. We’ll check the scene again in the very early hours.

4:59 AM: Back at the scene. 35th is still closed south of Avalon. Crews still at work.

5:16 AM: Northbound traffic is now being allowed through the area. Southbound still blocked by crews.

5:41 AM: They’ve just removed the barricades on the southbound side and traffic is now going both ways.

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FOLLOWUP: Third day of West Seattle Trader Joe’s closure because of crash-caused power outage
December 4, 2017 10:12 am
|      30 COMMENTS
 |   Triangle | Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle Trader Joe's

The West Seattle Trader Joe’s is still closed right now, third day since a power outage caused by a flipped-car crash early Saturday, as first reported here that morning. We have new information from Seattle City Light, after a conversation with spokesperson Scott Thomsen. He explains that the crash damaged not only SCL’s “pad-mounted transformer” – in the spot shown in our photo above, on the northeast corner of 39th SW and Fauntleroy Way – but also “some equipment that belongs to the customer” (Trader Joe’s). Thomsen says SCL completed its work, including replacing the transformer, by 7 pm Saturday. The delay since then is because the electrician working on TJ’s equipment has not yet finished fixing it; once they have, Thomsen says, they are ready to reconnect the power. Side note, answering some questions that had come up in the comment discussion: The damaged transformer did NOT contain PCBs: “The transformer that was hit was one of our new ones, containing certified FR3 vegetable oil. No PCBs. We cleaned up the oil that did leak.” We also sent an inquiry to Trader Joe’s this morning and have not yet heard back; if and when we do, we’ll add the information to this story. Meantime, SPD was investigating the crash as a possible case of DUI; Angela caught the crash aftermath on video:

The driver (who SPD says is a 26-year-old man) was taken to the hospital by private ambulance, which indicates his injuries weren’t major.

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WEST SEATTLE POWER OUTAGE: More out in south Arbor Heights/Arroyos
December 4, 2017 6:55 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Utilities | West Seattle news

Thanks for the messages about the power outage in the south Arbor Heights/Arroyos area; Comcast is reported to be out, too. Seattle City Light‘s map shows the outage as an extension of the one that started yesterday, though now it’s listed as 127 customers, about 30 more than when last we checked Sunday night. If you’re out and not shown on the map, be sure to let City Light know (206-684-3000).

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WEST SEATTLE POWER OUTAGES: Trader Joe’s closed for a second day; 96 without electricity in Arroyos area
December 3, 2017 12:44 pm
|      31 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle Trader Joe's

Two power outages making news today:

TRADER JOE’S STILL CLOSED: It’s now going on 36 hours since Trader Joe’s in The Triangle lost power after a rollover crash involving an allegedly DUI driver. We first reported the closure Saturday morning, hours after noting the 2 am crash. No official word on what’s taking so long – Seattle City Light and environmental-services crews were visible at the site yesterday but not so far today. The restoration estimate is now Monday evening.

Meantime, in the southwesternmost end of West Seattle:

96 OUT IN/NEAR ARROYOS: Just before 9 am, according to the City Light outage map, 96 homes lost power in the Arroyos area – see the screengrab above. The current restoration estimate is 7 pm, but the cause is not yet listed.

8:14 PM: Both outages continue. The Arroyos outage is attributed now to “equipment failure.” For Trader Joe’s, one source says it’s expected to be closed again tomorrow, awaiting a part. We’ll be following up with the company and the utility in the morning.

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FOLLOWUP: West Seattle Trader Joe’s closed because of power outage caused by early morning crash
December 2, 2017 9:11 am
|      36 COMMENTS
 |   Triangle | Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle Trader Joe's

9:11 AM: Thanks to everyone who’s texted us about this, reporting that West Seattle Trader Joe’s is closed right now because of a power outage caused by the flipped-car crash we reported early this morning. Angela, whose photo is in our original report, also sent this video:

One person went to the hospital via private ambulance, indicating their injuries were not life-threatening. Meantime, the City Light map says they’re hoping for restoration around 10:30 am – as with all outages, could be sooner, could be later.

9:22 AM: We just went over to the store to find out more. Lots of crews working out front on repairs. A Trader Joe’s staffer tells us they don’t know how long it’ll take – they’ve been warned it could be several hours.

12:05 PM: Still out, per the SCL map and per driving by. No restoration estimate now. Meantime, as noted in comments, SPD classified the crash as a suspected case of DUI.

SUNDAY MORNING NOTE: The SCL outage map shows the power still out. We hope to get over there around 9:30 to verify that the closure is continuing.

10:17 AM: We haven’t made it there yet but multiple reader messages confirm the closure continues.

NOTE: Our Sunday followup is here.

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West Seattle brown water: Hydrant testing southwest of The Junction
November 27, 2017 4:10 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

Thanks to the person who texted with a report of brown water in their neighborhood southwest of The Junction, near 51st and Edmunds – Seattle Public Utilities told them there’s hydrant testing in the area. Any time you experience discolored water, here’s the number to use to let SPU know: 206-386-1800. (They have some additional advice on this page.)

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