Fallen trees, downed power lines close state highway in Pierce County
State Route 7 near Eatonville is fully closed Thursday after multiple trees and power lines fell onto the roadway.
The highway is closed from Eatonville Cutoff Road to Alder Cutoff Road, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. That will affect people taking that route to Mount Rainier.
“Traffic is diverted to Eatonville Cutoff Rd. and Alder Cutoff Rd. There is no ETA for reopening at this time,” Washington State Patrol Trooper Kameron Watts wrote on X.
A storm system consisting of rain and strong winds that reached 45 to 55 miles per hour hit the region Wednesday night.
As of Thursday morning, there were power outages scattered around Tacoma with 147 people affected overall, according to Tacoma Power Utilities.
Throughout western Washington, there were 213 active power outages, with 34,636 customers affected, the Puget Sound Energy outage map shows.
Outages are spread across the eastern and central areas of Pierce County. The areas most affected are Greenwater, with 507 without power. About 384 customers in the Snoquera area are also without power.
About 190 people on Anderson Island, which sits off the coast of Steilacoom, are without power Thursday morning, according to Tanner Electric Cooperative. There are also outage issues on Lake Josephine and in the Dogwood area.
“The crew is patrolling the area this morning to identify any new issues that happened overnight. Storm repairs will require assistance from additional crews to clear the trees and repair the lines. TEC crews were out most of the night working on outages in North Bend, and our Ames Lake area suffered significant damage as well, and the substation there is down,” according to the company.
Update: The roadway has reopened, according to a WSDOT update.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 8:02 AM.
