Winds and rain moved into The Snoqualmie Valley overnight, with gusts ranging from 40-60+ mph, causing widespread outages across the area. Ryan Porter of Snoqualmie Weather warned of this storm in Sunday’s report and estimated the Valley area was probably pummeled with peak southerly gusts that exceeded 60 mph.
The majority of North Bend and Snoqualmie have lost power. According to Puget Sound Energy (PSE), they currently have crews in the field assessing equipment damage, and they are expecting a ‘multi-day restoration effort.” As of 2 pm, Wednesday, PSE reports 4388 customers without power in North Bend and 6010 customers in Snoqualmie. As of that time, there is no estimated restoration time reported.
Tanner Electric, which services some areas of North Bend, has been out making repairs on its local lines but said it would not be able to restore power until the two PSE transmission lines that serve the Snoqualmie Valley are back online. According to Tanner Electric, PSE has informed them that the damage to those transmission lines is extensive and to “prepare for a long outage.” As of 2 pm, Wednesday, Tanner Electric is reporting 2294 customers without power.
Both cities are actively monitoring the situation, removing downed trees, and are in communication with PSE and Tanner Electric regarding when power will be restored.
PSE may not release another update until this evening as crews are busy responding to extensive outages across the Puget Sound region. The City of North Bend will be updating their news release throughout the day as PSE releases new information.
Twitter (@SnoqualmieGov) will be the main communication outlet for the City of Snoqualmie. General questions can be directed to info@snoqualmiewa.gov. Call 911 for emergencies. Sign up for ALERT King County for local and regional emergency alerts. Due to internet access issues, email may be sporadic.
As of noon, there were approximately 210,000 customers without power in the Puget Sound Region, and more than 178,000 customer outages have been restored since the beginning of this storm.
Currently, the City of North Bend does not have any roads closed due to flooding. However, NE 8th Street in the Silver Creek neighborhood is closed due to a downed power line. Road closure signs and detours are in place.
The City of Snoqualmie reports that Reinig Road at 396th is closed due to water over the roadway, Millpond Road is closed because of a tree leaning on powerlines. Park Street between Schusman and Meadowbrook Way due to a tree in the roadway and another tree on Park St between Schulman and Meadowbrook.
Remember to be safe!
- Never touch or go within 35 feet of downed power lines because they might be energized.
Call PSE at 1-888-225-5773 or 911 to report problems. - Never use a natural gas range for heating.
- Never use propane or charcoal for cooking inside.
- Use flashlights instead of candles.
- Have an AM radio and extra batteries on hand.
- More safety tips can be found at www.takewinterbystorm.org.
- Consider intersections four-way stops if stoplights are not working.
Republic Services in North Bend may have routes are delayed due to localized power outages, downed lines and overturned collection bins. Still, all routes are currently running and it expects customers to picked up on their normal scheduled service day.
Snoqualmie Valley Transportation (SVT) has informed both cities that it is still running buses, but with various detours and re-routes in place due to downed trees. SVT has a temporary phone number for riders to call to book and/or cancel rides – 425.531.3815.
The Puget Sound Energy outage map is a helpful tool to assess when power may be restored to local areas and neighborhoods. That map can be found HERE. Residents can also download the myPSE app for outage and account information.
Locally, Issaquah did not sustain as many outages, and many services are available there if needed.
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