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At the storm’s peak, about 55,000 customers in the county were without power, spokesman Andy Wappler said. That number fell to about 47,000 late Friday, then about 45,000 Saturday morning and 38,000 about 3 p.m. Saturday.
The following are power-outage counts for most of the cities and towns in the county Saturday afternoon:
Olympia: 23,718.
Yelm: 5,417.
Lacey: 3,752.
Rainier: 1,929.
Tumwater: 1,716.
Tenino: 1,407.
Bucoda: 124.
Wappler said the majority of customers in Thurston County should have power by late Sunday, although for some it could take until Monday or Tuesday.
About 59 line crews – 200 people – were working on more than 100 damaged locations in the county, he said.
Wappler said the challenge with this storm was that it kept escalating during the week, beginning with snow, followed by freezing rain. Then falling trees contributed to the problem Friday.
“This was the storm that kept on giving,” he said.
Gusty winds here Friday night and Saturday morning did not further contribute to the problem, as it did in Kitsap, Pierce and King counties, he said, but more wind is in the forecast.
About a half-inch of rain is expected Sunday along with 10 to 25 mph winds, said Dennis D’Amico of the National Weather Service.
Overnight temperatures likely will be in the mid- to upper 30s, and the Sunday daytime high should be in the mid-40s, he said. Thurston County is under a flood watch, D’Amico said.
Meanwhile, the City of Olympia has called in additional work crews to assist the city work crews in clearing downed trees or power lines that have blocked some hills in west Olympia, spokeswoman Cathie Butler said.
West-side hills that are still closed:
- Lakeridge Drive, also known as “courthouse hill.”
- Brawne from West Bay Drive to Rogers Street.
- 20th Avenue to 28th Avenue.
In eastern Olympia, Legion Way still is closed from Central to Eastside because of downed trees, Butler said. Other city road closures as of 2 p.m. Saturday:
- 12th Avenue at Fir Street.
- 22nd Avenue: Cain Road to Wheeler Avenue.
- 28th Avenue: Cooper Point Road to 26th Avenue.
- Ames Road: East Bay Drive to Gull Harbor Road.
- Crestline Boulevard at Elliot Avenue: southbound lane closed.
- Decatur: Harrison Avenue to Garfield Avenue.
- Deschutes Parkway: Fifth Avenue to Tumwater city limits.
- Division Street: 20th Avenue to Cooper Point Road.
- Jefferson Street: 17th Avenue to 18th Avenue.
- Maple Park: Capitol Way to Jefferson Street.
- Morse-Merryman Road: Hoffman Road to Wiggins Road.
- Pattison Road: Apple Hill Court to Eighth Avenue.
- Pine Street: Fir Street to Wilson Street.
- Prospect Avenue: Quince Street to Eastside Street.
- Rogers Street: Giles Avenue to Madison Avenue.
- West Bay Drive: Brawne Avenue to Raft Hill.
- Wheeler Avenue.
Other Saturday developments:
- Libraries: All Timberland libraries, except Yelm and Tumwater, were expected to open Saturday and resume normal operating hours.
- Intercity Transit: Several previously detoured routes returned to normal service: routes 12, 45, 47, 62B, 66, 67 and 68. The following routes were detoured for part of Saturday: 41, 43 and 44, 48 and 60.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403
rboone@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/bizblog
