Power remains out this afternoon for hundreds of thousands of residents in the Puget Sound region after a major snow storm Wednesday was followed by an equally nasty ice storm Thursday.
The rain has returned to the region and the ice is melting - sometimes too fast.
Washington State Patrol troopers closed both Tacoma Narrows bridges shortly before noon because of large ice chunks falling onto the bridge deck.
Trooper Guy Gill reports that an assessment of the bridges will be done before he knows when they will be reopened.
Tacoma fire spokesman Joe Meinecke advises residents should for watch out sheets of ice falling from roofs of houses and buildings.
“It’s something we need people to be mindful of throughout the day,” he said.
POWER UPDATE
Puget Sound Energy crews have restored power to 138,000 customers but 254,000 remained in the dark as of 11 a.m. Much of east Pierce County and south King County remains in the dark including thousands of PSE customers in Federal Way, Puyallup, Auburn, Kent, Bonney Lake, Orting and Sumner.
The utility had 20 crews working overnight. One hundred crews headed out at daybreak, with 59 teams scheduled to arrive later in the day. Another 64 crews from out of state should be in the area by late Saturday.
Three helicopters also are helping with the effort. They are flying the 250 miles of transmission lines to assess and report the damage.
The utility hopes to make significant progress today but also cautions that the hardest hit areas could be without power through the weekend.
Emergency crews continue to respond to reports of downed trees and power lines throughout the county, Central Pierce Fire & Rescue Assistant Chief Randy Stephens said. Central Pierce crews responded to 389 emergency calls Thursday. The pace continues today.
Tacoma fire crews handled 275 calls Thursday. Most were “hazardous condition” calls, including downed trees and wires. So far today, they’ve handled 140 calls, Meinecke said.
Peninsula Light Co. is dealing with outages impacting more than 3,000 on both Peninsulas. Crews are working to restore electricity in the Vaughn, Longbranch, Lakebay and Palmer Lake areas of the Key Peninsulas this morning.
Tacoma Power reports a total of about 2,600 outages, including 1,125 in the Roy, Graham and Elk Plain areas, 930 in the Midland area, 200 near Puyallup around Canyon Road and 128th Street East and McMillin Reservoir Road and 100 in University Place around Cirque Drive, Sunset Drive and Elwood Drive. The rest are spread throughout the service area in Frederickson, Fife, West Tacoma and Northeast Tacoma.
The power outages and dangerous conditions have closed many schools for a third day in the region.
In response to the power outages, governments, churches and other agencies opened shelters where people could go to get warm.
ROADS BLOCKED
Road crews worked overnight all all morning in Pierce County to clear away slush and debris. The crews report that the main roads are mostly bare and wet with slush in places. Secondary roads have been plowed and are “reasonably passable,” roads division manager Bruce Wagner reports.
State Route 410 remains closed east of Enumclaw. Roughly 50 other roads also are closed because of downed trees and power lines. Another 61 locations have lane restrictions. Partial listing of affected routes.
“Tree damage and debris is significant and is widespread,” Wagner reports. “Crews are working non-stop to coordinate with utility companies to open roads. Some tree damage is likely to continue until snow has melted so this count is very dynamic.”
Wagner advises that drivers should reduce their speed, allow extra time for their commute and use caution. Branches and downed lines can be difficult to see.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.