Power still out to thousands in western Washington due to windstorm

Auburn, wash. - Power crews took advantage of a break in the weather Sunday afternoon to restore power to hundreds of customers in the Puget Sound region. 

What we know:

Crews worked to restore power to Auburn residents estimated it could take a couple of days to get things back to normal for some. 

Potelco crews worked all day Sunday to restore power to residents off of SE Auburn Black Diamond Road and 192nd Ave SE.  Not far away, another team helped those living off of Thomas Road where giant trees came down, some uprooted. 

A neighbor off that road said that he felt the earth shake from his truck when it fell Saturday.  

Other communities had similar experiences. 

"We’ve heard a lot of trees and there’s been a bunch of branches falling in our yard, and we’ve barely been able to get out," said Wren Soderberg, whose family lives in the Lake Morton area.

Wren says power also went out to residents who live around the lake.  She spent her Sunday charging her phone in her van.   

"I’ve been charging it a lot in the car."

The family also charged the van itself at a station located in a nearby Walmart parking lot and had been eating at restaurants because the food in the fridge had started to spoil. 

"It’s all going bad right now," said Wren. 

What they're saying:

Puget Sound Energy said many trees didn’t stand a chance due to the mixture of the wind and the rain. 

"When you have both of those mixing though, you have soil starting to get softer, making it easier for trees to fall trees to fall," said Gerald Tracy, Media Engagement Program Manager, Puget Sound Energy.  

Tracy said downed trees not only took out power lines, but blocked power crews from getting to some locations quickly because those trees had come down over the roads.  

"They might be falling in a neighborhood or falling on country roads or service road," said Tracy. "Somewhere that our crews have to go through to get back in and restore power." 

"It’s just kind of like last year," said Wren.  

Wren's family says they were without power for six days following last year's bomb cyclone.  They're hopeful power will be restored quicker this time around. 

"It's been really cold. We don’t have a heater, we have a fire.  We’ve been huddling by the fire," said Wren.    

PSE Official Statement: 

As of 4:34 p.m. (October 26), there are 73,259 customers without power, down from 148,000 at 6 a.m., according to our outage map.

Our crews are working as quickly and safely as possible. Although we cannot give you a ETR for Auburn or Covington alone, customers can find their outage on the map and track it there. However, there will be times when the outages are fixed so quickly, they get restored before the website is updated. The best way to find out ETRs for specific areas or outages is to check the outrage map regularly.

PSE crews spent most of the day assessing damage and restoring power where it could be easily restored.  As our crews arrive onsite where there is storm damage, they estimate how long it will take to make repairs and restore power. That information gets communicated to our Operations Center and our online outage map gets updated with the Estimated Time of Restoration.

 There are nearly 70 crews working throughout our service territory, working tirelessly to get the lights back on for our customers.

MORE NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE

Black Lives Matter mural vandalized in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood

Nearly 1,000 Starbucks workers in Seattle, Kent to be laid off

First WA snow of the season to hit this week. Here's where

Teen found hiding in closet after 2 people found dead in Pierce County home

Suspected DUI driver crashes into Pierce County deputy, arrested

To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.

Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.

NewsWashingtonAuburnWeatherKing County