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Strong winds in Whatcom County
Bellingham will experience some strong winds today, causing trees to topple over power lines in one neighborhood Thursday. Q13's Steve Kiggins reports.
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Trees toppled into power lines west of Bellingham International Airport are to blame for just one power outage in Whatcom County.
Thursday’s storm blew into the North Sound with a fury. Puget Sound Energy reported spotty power outages across the county by the late evening.
Along Wynn Road, dozens of home homeowners were without power due to a fallen tree that neighbors say caused a domino effect, toppling a power pole down the road that pulled yet another tree down on one property.
The cold weather is likely also to blame for an explosion in Bellingham at a temporary homeless camp. Bellingham Police say one person was transported to the hospital with burns after a number of propane tanks exploded. The blast lit a tent and other structures afire along Fraser Street near Puget Street.
A volunteer from the camp said the fire may have been sparked by a resident attempting to keep warm during the cold weather.
In Lynden the winds were relentless, pushing debris and tree limbs onto side streets. The National Weather Service said gusts were forecast to reach near 60 mph, pushing wind chills into the single digits overnight.
A warming center was opened in Bellingham to offer safe haven for those without adequate shelter.
While the strong winds were the dominant weather feature Thursday, forecasters predicted snow would likely follow in the coming days.