Thousands in Thurston County lose power as wind storm hit Thursday morning
Thousands of Puget Sound Energy customers in Thurston County lost power after a wind storm hit the region Thursday.
Lacey Fire District 3 tweeted all county fire resources were “experiencing high response volume due to downed trees, power lines and associated issues.”
There were road closures on Delphi Road Southwest, Rainier Road Southeast, Tilley Road Southwest and elsewhere due to fallen trees and power lines.
Olympia’s Watershed Park was closed due to multiple downed trees.
A wind advisory was in effect with gusts up to 55 mph possible in Olympia and Lacey, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. Stronger winds were expected on the coast and the interior lowlands from Tacoma to Bellingham.
The Weather Service recorded gusts of 43 mph at Olympia Regional Airport and 50 mph at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the morning.
Power went out at the Thurston County courthouse in the morning. Some workers were sent home but court operations were back to normal by the afternoon.
Throughout the Puget Sound region, more than 300,000 households and businesses lost power Thursday. Strong winds blew over shipping containers and tore off part of a clock tower’s exterior in western Washington.
At their peak Thursday, gusts reached 74 mph along the coast, near 60 mph inland and 117 mph at Mount Baker, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Trees took out power lines, smashed cars and landed on rooftops, closing roads, bridges and some schools. No serious injuries were reported.
In Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood, a giant Western Hemlock landed on the roof of a home.
“I heard a big gust of wind and we ran outside to make sure no one was hurt,” Marlow Harris told KOMO-TV. “Everyone loved the trees here, so I’m sad that we lost a big old tree, it must have been 60 feet tall.”
Downed power lines blocked southbound Interstate 5 near Burlington on Thursday afternoon. Only one lane of northbound I-5 remained open in that area. Officials temporarily closed the Hood Canal Bridge because of high winds, and the Deception Pass Bridge because of downed trees and power lines.
Winds in Bellingham ripped part of the exterior from a clock tower while in Discovery Bay west of Chimacum an 80-foot sailboat was blown aground.
“Apparently trees aren’t all we are dealing with today,” tweeted Washington State Patrol Trooper Chelsea Hodgson with a photo of a trampoline trapped between power lines in Grays Harbor.
Washington State Ferries officials said the San Juan Islands run and the Port Townsend-Coupeville run experienced cancelations and delays, while some Puget Sound runs faced delays, rough seas and limits on boarding space.
Scott Wilson, a spokesman with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s office, told the Seattle Times that Thursday’s windstorm brought fallen trees and downed power lines to Port Orchard, but did not appear to have further damaged structures damaged Tuesday by a rare tornado.
Rain and winds are expected to die down by Friday.
This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 10:30 AM.