Day 3 without power for thousands in Snohomish County after destructive windstorm

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. - Friday marked the third day that people in Snohomish County were without power due to destructive windstorms.

Just outside of Arlington, more than 2,600 Snohomish County PUD customers were still in the dark, as of 4 p.m. Friday.

A spokesperson for the electric company said the repairs are taking so long because the job is more labor-intensive than expected. Several large trees and power poles crashed down due to high winds, heavy rains and saturated soil. Crews have already replaced 28 power poles during the 72 hours of nonstop work. The spokesperson said part of their delay is due to cutting several large trees to safely access power lines.

A neighborhood in Stanwood around Lake Goodwin is in one of the most complicated areas to repair due to down trees and conditions. People who live in the area said they can’t remember the last time the electricity has been out this long. Three days without power and two small children is testing the patience of Trisha Troutvine.

"A lot of moving extension cords around, trying to keep the kids occupied explaining that nobody’s YouTube works, nobody’s internet works, nobody’s light switches work," said Troutvine.

RELATED: Power outages could last until Saturday for some PSE customers

Snohomish County PUD said the northern part of the county was hit the hardest by the recent windstorm.

"I grew up camping and living out here we’ve dealt with this before with some storms. 22:18 But it just sucks not having normal TV and being able to cook on the stove right now," said Troutvine.

"There’s always these big windstorms yearly. The power goes out for a little while but it’s usually no worse than a day. So it’s been a while since we’ve had a big outage like this," said Carter Wagner, who lives near Lake Goodwin.

Chimney smoke in the neighborhood was a sure sign some people were heating their homes by their fireplace. Others relied on their generators. Wagner said his family is borrowing one.

"Before that, it was decently cold. So, we had to keep the fire going and light some candles and things, huddle around and actually talk to each other for a little while," said Wagner.

Snohomish County PUD said it’s challenging to predict how soon power will be restored. The spokesperson said customers could still be in the dark through Saturday. Crews are working every shift to get things up and running as quickly as possible.