WEST SEATTLE WEATHER: Power outages for 13,000+ on the peninsula; tree trouble; other ongoing windstorm updates
(QUICK LINKS: National Weather Service alerts page … Seattle City Light outage map)
5:37 PM: Lights flickered up here, twice, a few minutes ago – checked the Seattle City Light outage map and saw the first outage of note, 55 homes on Genesee Hill:
SCL says this started about 10 minutes ago. Weather updates to come; if you have power trouble, tree trouble, etc., text us at 206-293-6302.
6:03 PM: Above is a texted photo of the tree that one reader suspects is to blame for the Genesee Hill outage. Meantime, emergency responders are being sent to a report of a tree into a house in the 8100 block of 16th SW. And we’ve flickered again, which is likely to mean another outage somewhere.
6:26 PM: A reader reports power out at 17th/Dawson – so far per the map, it does not appear to be a major outage. … 10 minutes later, 52nd/Andover just reported an “explosion” and outage, though there’s still nothing mapped in West Seattle that’s bigger than the Genesee Hill outage.
6:48 PM: Highland Park/Riverview readers report power’s out, and more of Puget Ridge. Not mapped yet, though…. The City Light map hasn’t changed numbers in a while so we’re beginning to wonder if it’s broken. Keep letting us know where outages are. (You can do that via commenting below, too.) … Texters also report power out at:
-9th/Thistle (Highland Park)
-Tree down on SW Rose at 35th, “lying on a pole/likely a power line”
7:19 PM: Also getting outage reports from Westwood and South Delridge (including 17th/Barton). White Center as well – more in comments. …. City Light has finally acknowledged onscreen that the outage map is broken. If you’re not within earshot, the wind continues to gust, at least as we’re hearing it here in Upper Fauntleroy. … Just got word of a downed wire at 35th/110th in Arbor Heights, as well as a tree blocking northbound Highway 509. … If you have to go out, watch for tree debris in roads and on sidewalks, like this, texted from near 39th/Kenyon:
7:48 PM: Texter says the Westwood-area outage has affected many stores at Westwood Village, so they’re closed – they mentioned QFC, Marshall’s, Starbucks, Big Five, Rite Aid. Target, they say, still has power. … The SCL map seems to be adding outage numbers a handful at a time. It’s now past 10,300, but that’s likely still a FRACTION of how many are out. In West Seattle, we’ve heard primarily from east of 35th, not surprising since these winds are coming out of the southeast. (Some exceptions though, like the Genesee Hill outage, and we’re also hearing from a few streets west of there, 5300 block of SW Manning and Orleans as well, per one texter.)
8:05 PM: City Light also acknowledges that its outage-reporting phone line is broken, so don’t bother calling it for a while either. … Per commenters, the 1st Avenue South Bridge is broken. (Don’t drive unless it’s an emergency, anyway!)… WSDOT says it’s stuck in the “up” position.
8:20 PM: Looks like SCL’s map has caught up – now showing more than 71,000 out around its service area. (The outage at the center of the screenshot above is the biggest one in West Seattle that hadn’t shown on the map until now.) … The photo below was just texted, “Entire tree down on 21st Ave SW and Barton, missed our car by inches!”
8:51 PM: Hard to be absolutely certain from the live camera but the 1st Avenue South Bridge appears to be open to traffic again. SCL’s total number of mapped customers out, service-area-wide (they serve areas outside the city limits too), is up to 76,000+. … A few reminders: Intersections with flashing or dark signals are all-way stops … If your power is out, DON’T OPEN YOUR REFRIGERATOR OR FREEZER — what you have in there will last longer if you don’t … Whatever restoration estimate City Light shows for your outage, ignore it – it’s just a guess; could be sooner, could be later – the estimates are not based on an actual eyes-on assessment of the situation.
9:29 PM: Though the map hasn’t caught up yet, we’re hearing from people in northwest West Seattle who just lost power – Alki, north and south and west of The Junction, to name a few. … SFD/SPD are dispatching to a tree down on wires in the 4600 block of SW Holgate. Still not mapped but from all the texts, this one sounds pretty widespread. … North Admiral too. (See comments for some specific locations.)
10:03 PM: The outage stretches east of High Point too – just got a text from someone on “Snake Hill” (29th-31st, Brandon-Findlay).
10:17 PM: Aaron on Walnut Avenue tells us they’ve just had a big tree go down, taking out THREE power poles and their lines. …. Police were just dispatched to another tree at 47th/Charlestown … City Light finally just acknowledged their map has stalled again … SEA airport’s weather station recorded a 55 mph wind gust earlier tonight …
10:54 PM: City Light warns, “Crews will work through the night. It’s going to take time to restore power. Crews are first dispatched to areas that pose an immediate safety threat.” … The map’s catching up again – showing 113,000+ out service-area-wide – but the north West Seattle outage (Alki to beyond The Junction) still isn’t showing, so there’s still more to add …
11:39 PM: SCL map finally shows the extent of the north West Seattle outage, more than 8,300 homes and businesses.
The map is still a little wacky, as the green markers are supposed to signify “planned outages” and there’s no way those were happening in multiple locations tonight. But the pink shading is likely a fairly accurate representation of who’s out. We count at least 13,000 West Seattle customers who’ve lost power tonight.
12:39 AM: Some texted reports of power restored, including Charlestown Hill and north and south of The Junction.
5:22 AM: Thousands got their power back in the early morning hours – some just moments ago – but thousands more remain out. The weather has calmed as expected. We’re working on the morning traffic update.
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