Power restored to thousands of Puget Sound Energy customers after day of high winds
SEATTLE - Power has been restored to thousands of customers after strong winds battered Western Washington on Monday.
According to Puget Sound Energy, more than 32,000 customers were without power as of 10 p.m. Monday.
On Tuesday morning, the utility provider said about 4,256 were still without power as of 10 a.m.
On its website, PSE wrote:
"Strong winds, heavy rains and snow in some areas are causing power outages around Western Washington. Hard-hit areas include Pierce and Thurston counties; today’s power outages are the result of fallen trees and limbs due to strong winds and rain-saturated soils. The saturated ground can destabilize trees, making them more susceptible to collapsing.
Our local storm bases are open to coordinate restoration efforts. Our crews are assessing damage and making repairs as conditions are safe—they will work through the night as conditions allow. Additional outages may occur as stormy weather continues.
Our first step in restoring power is damage assessment: getting a look at what’s been done to the system and determining the extent of repairs that are needed. The process takes time and crews may be delayed, especially if unsafe weather or impassable roads remain an issue."
You can check restore times here.
In Seattle, around 1,343 customers are affected. Crews have been dispatched to hundreds of reported outages in the area.
The cause of most of these outages has not been identified yet, but some are confirmed to be caused by fallen power lines and trees.
It is unknown when power will be restored.
MORE INFO: Storm to bring in heavy rain, wind and mountain snow
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