FOX 13 rides along with Puget Sound Energy as crews repair power outages
FOX 13 rides along with Puget Sound Energy as they work to restore power
Crews with Puget Sound Energy have been working around the clock to fix power in areas hit by last week's bomb cyclone. FOX 13 Seattle rode along with them to see just what goes into turning the lights back on.
SEATTLE - As of Sunday morning, nearly 30,000 Puget Sound Energy customers were still without power.
Those outages come as Puget Sound Energy initially estimated that many customers would have their power back on by Saturday, but for some, that estimation had been pushed back to Monday. FOX 13 was the only station to ride along with Puget Sound Energy crews on Saturday.
"It’s really hard to pick an area that was worst hit. Issaquah was absolutely decimated, some areas saw stronger winds than others," said Ryan Murphy with Puget Sound Energy.
From Issaquah to Sammamish to Bellevue, FOX 13 Seattle tagged along as Murphy explained what crews have seen this week and the conditions they’ve been working in. In Issaquah, he told us, crews have been on that one particular job site for 14 hours.
"These jobs, the damage is so significant that when the tree falls onto our infrastructure, not only the pole at the location but the poles adjacent are often significantly damaged," Murphy said.
Typically, it takes crews four to six hours to cut the trees to get access to the area, then repairing the power lines can take 12 to 14 hours, he explained. Right now, PSE has more than 160 crews out working, with each crew consisting of four to five people. In normal operations, they have about 50 crews out.
"As we look to restore power, we have to first repair the high voltage lines that come into our substation and then from there we repair the electrical lines that route out to our homes," Murphy said.
Before they can do that though, crews have to respond to 911 calls, something some may not realize.
"We have had thousands of 911 calls to take in," Murphy said, "that’s trees across the road, trees hanging in lines, and that is a really big pull in resources."
In his 25 years working in this industry, he said this storm reminds him of a storm in 2006, but this one has been unique with the easterly winds.
"That level of devastation from 2006, we’re seeing that here, only it’s really condensed in King County," Murphy said.
As crews have worked around the clock, Murphy told FOX 13 Seattle they’ve discovered more significant damage in some areas, which is why they’ve now pushed back some of their initial estimated time of restoration.
"We’re very dedicated, we’re working really hard, and I want to say thank you to those who have endured without power — my family is one of them — your grace, it means a lot. We’re doing the best we can," Murphy said.
Lastly, Murphy wants to remind folks that anytime you see a downed wire, assume it is dangerous and do not approach it. He recommends staying a school bus length away from the downed wire.
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