Photos
Capitol Campus
Power has been restored to the campus, and to much of downtown Olympia.
Schools
The Evergreen State College: All campuses closed
Griffin School District Closed for Friday
Yelm Community Schools closed Friday
Elma schools are closed Friday.
Toledo schools 2 hrs late, No preschool, Buses on snow routes
In Mason county, Pioneer, Shelton and Southside are all closed Friday
McCleary is Closed
Montesano is Closed
Garbage pickup
The city of Olympia will not collect trash on Saturday and Sunday as originally planned. Residents are asked to keep their trash cans on the curb, spokeswoman Cathie Butler said.
Roads
NEWUpdate: All lanes in both directions of I-5 between Centralia and Grand Mound in Thurston Co are open to traffic.
State Route 3: Trees over the roadway block SR 3 at SR 106. Both directions of the roadway are closed.
NEWMaytown and Scatter Creek Rest areas along I-5 in Thurston Co. have reopened.
The city of Olympia passes on the following road closures as of this afternoon:
• 12th at Fir • 22nd:: Cain to Wheeler • 28th: Cooper Point to 26th • Ames: East Bay to Gull Harbor Rd. • Crestline at Elliot southbound lane closed • Decatur: Harrison to Garfield • Deschutes Parkway: 5th (downtown Olympia) to Tumwater • Division: 20th to Cooper Point • Jefferson: 17th to 18th • Legion: Eastside to Central; Eastside to Plum (Eastside Street is open); and Washington to Franklin • Maple Park: Capitol Way to Jefferson • Morse-Merryman: Hoffman to Wiggins • Prospect Avenue: Quince to Eastside • Rogers: Giles to Madison • West Bay: Brawne to Raft Hill • Wheeler
The following hills are closed on the east side:
• 7th from Central to McCormick
• 10th from Fir to Central
• Berry from East Bay to Milas
• Bigelow from Eastside to Quince
• Legion from Central to Eastside
• San Francisco from East Bay to Quince
The following hills are closed on the west side:
• 4th (Westside – Hospital Hill) from Olympic to Sherman
• 5th (Westside) from Sherman to Olympic
• Brawne from West Bay to Rogers
• Lakeridge (Courthouse) Hill
• Raft Hill from West Bay to Harbor View
The Olympia Center will be open as a warming center until 10 p.m. Friday.
As of noon, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was being closed while crews clear chunks of ice from the overhead structures.
Transit
Intercity Transit UPDATE: January 20, 6:30 a.m. Intercity Transit routes are still on Severe Weather Detours. However, there have been some changes since Thursday. During the course of the day, service may return to normal. Riders should visit intercitytransit.com for service updates before departing for the bus. They can also call 360-786-1881, Customer Service, for information. Riders should expect delays and dress warmly. The latest: Routes 43 and 44 (service to SPSCC, the Courthouse/Olympia): Service is back but on standard detours. Mottman Road to SPSCC is closed. Catch the bus on Crosby. Routes 41 (service to Evergreen/Olympia): Library loop at Evergreen is closed. Catch the bus on Evergreen Parkway. The route is altered, operating on Division to 20th, the Cooper Point Road. Route 48 (Service to Evergreen, Westfield Mall, Olympia): Library Loop is closed. Catch the bus on Evergreen Parkway. Route 94 (Service to Yelm/Amtrak/Olympia): 22nd is closed. Buses are traveling on Union, Eastside, 4th Avenue to Boulevard and back on route. Tips for riding the bus in snow and ice: -Wait for the bus at the top or bottom of the hill closest to the stop. -Signal the bus so that the operator has plenty of time to stop. -Wait until the bus stops and the door opens before approaching the bus. -Use handrails when getting on and off the bus. -Wear highly visible and warm clothing.
Pierce County Transit
UPDATE 11 AM- Pierce Transit routes 41, 62, 212,& 410 remain on snow detours. Routes 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 28, 42, 45, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 55, 57, 100, 102, 202, 204, 206, 214, 300, 400, 402, 409, 495, 496, 497, 500, & 501 resumed regular service as of 9:15 AM. Minor route modifications may be made due to fallen tree limbs or power lines. Riders should visit www.piercetransit.org before leaving their homes for service updates and detailed snow detour maps, they can also call 253-984-8155 for automated information. Some buses are chained and travel at slower speeds. Riders should expect delays and dress warmly.
JBLM
Joint Base Lewis-McChord will continue curtailed operations on Friday, January 20, with only mission essential (Air Force Level Bravo) and critical (Air Force Level Alpha) personnel reporting for duty.
Both critical personnel and mission essential personnel should report at a time determined by their chain of supervision.
Services
The Employment Security Department and WorkSource offices located in Thurston County will open two hours late (at 10 a.m.) Friday.
The Thurston County Courthouse opened at 9 a.m. today. But the Family and Juvenile Court is closed due to a power outage.
Employees are advices not to attempt the commute if your own personal circumstances are such that travel on local roadways remains hazardous. If this is the case, check in with your supervisor to confirm your situation.
Tumwater
City Hall will be open today with limited staffing. In addition to emergency calls, the highest priority is to open roads with fallen trees in order to give PSE access.
Olympia
Traffic Signals. Come to a 4-way stop at intersections where traffic signals are not working.
Trees and Limbs on Olympia Streets. Call Public Works Dispatch at 753-8333 to report downed trees and limbs on Olympia streets. Be prepared to provide the street address and whether or not power lines are entangled in the tree. We are keeping a list of downed trees on city streets and will get to them as we can on Friday and over the weekend. City crews cannot remove trees entangled with power lines until PSE crews remove and repair the lines. Debris and trees on private property are the responsibility of the owner to clear.
Downed Power Lines. Call 911 to report downed or hazardous power lines. City crews do not repair downed power lines. Do not call Olympia public works dispatch about downed power lines.
All Olympia Parks and Trails are CLOSED. Please stay out of City parks and off trails due to hazardous conditions with heavy snow and ice on trees and paths.
Puget Sound Blood Center
Puget Sound Blood Center today issued an urgent appeal for blood and platelet donors after Western Washington’s blood supply dropped sharply as a result of severe winter weather.
Information about locations and times to give blood can be found at psbc.org. People can go to one of 11 donor centers in Western Washington, or check for community blood drives underway closer to where they live or work. Appointments are encouraged but walk-ins are welcome, too. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 1-800-398-7888.
Groups, organizations, and meetings
A hearing before the Thurston County Commissioners regarding an interim Prairie Protection Ordinance has been cancelled. The hearing had been schedule for January 21st at the courthouse but has been put off due to the weather. It will be rescheduled for a later date.
Tumwater Parks & Recreation's Tumwater Youth Basketball league games originally scheduled for Saturday, January 21 have been re-sheduled to Sunday, January 29th with the same game times & locations.
