Live updates: Power out across parts of Pierce County as winds pummel the region Tuesday
High winds have knocked out power across areas of Pierce County, including on Key Peninsula where thousands awoke in the dark Tuesday morning.
More than 2,500 homes and business also were without electricity in the greater Tacoma area, according to Tacoma Public Utilities.
The National Weather Service Office in Seattle was calling for more wind and rain through the morning hours.
“Winds across the interior will continue to increase over the next hour or so, where southerly wind gusts to 50-55 mph will remain possible through the early morning hours,” the office reported at 4:16 a.m. “Winds will peak through the early morning period, but will remain gusty as they gradually ease throughout the afternoon hours today. Downed trees and power outages will remain possible.”
There also were sporadic reports of trees across roadways throughout the region, so transportation officials warned of dangerous driving conditions and possible delayed commutes.
Here’s what we know so far:
Power outages
Peninsula Light Co.
The Key Peninsula and Gig Harbor areas were pounded overnight with high winds, including a gust of 49 mpg at Gig Harbor, Penlight reported.
About 8,500 homes and businesses were reported without power in the district’s service area, which serves about 33,000 customers.
At 5:30 a.m., the utility reported on X: “8500 out. Transmission ETA ~2hrs then additional 1hr for dispatch to energize KP feeders. Crews also at Dana Dr and East Bay making repairs. Others cont. to patrol for causes/damages. More updates to come for other outages. Thank you for your continued patience!”
As of 7:45a.m., around 7,400 customers were without power.
“Transmission restored & slowly picking up KP feeders, however as winds continue more outages are coming in. All crews patrolling/repairing where possible. Hard to predict any ETAs until the winds settle around 10AM. Crews remain reporting to outages as conditions allow,” the utility said on X.
About 5,863 customers are without power as of 1 p.m.
Tacoma Public Utilities
As of 1 p.m., about 137 customers are without power. This number is steadily declining, as shown on TPU’s outage map.
More than 2,500 customers were affected earlier in the morning, from the Point Defiance Area south through University Place.
As of 5:30 a.m., there was no immediate estimate of when power would be restored to most areas.
“We are aware of outages this morning due to the wind storm affecting Skyline Elementary in Tacoma, parts of 6th Ave., and University Place Primary School. Crews have been dispatched, and working to safely and quickly restore power. Follow restoration efforts and updates at http://MyTPU.org/Outage,” the utility wrote in an X post.
Puget Sound Electricity
PSE was reporting more than 100,000 customers out across its wide service area, including in parts of Lakewood, Bonney Lake and Roy.
Tanner Electric Cooperative
The co-op that serves Anderson Island was reporting some outages in the southern part of the island as of 6 a.m. but hoped to have service restored shortly.
Road closures
High winds and fallen trees blocking roadways in Tacoma caused some road closures, according to the City of Tacoma on X.
The northbound lane of North Union from North 21st to North 22nd is closed.
South Cedar Street is closed from South 9th to South 10th, the post said.
Both of these incidents have cleared, the city said in an updated post.
The City of Buckley says a fallen tree has caused a power outage on Ryan Road, with sections of Ryan Road, South River Avenue and Pearl Street closed while crews clear debris and restore power. There is also an internet outage, with no estimated time of restoration for power or internet.
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 5:47 AM.
