High winds knock out power

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, December 12, 2006

About 5,500 homes were without power in southeast Snohomish County this morning as strong winds continued to hammer the region.

Starting around 10 a.m., the wind knocked limbs onto power lines in Bothell, Maltby and parts of Monroe, said Neil Neroutsos, a spokesman for Snohomish County PUD.

Earlier in the morning about 2,000 homes lost power in Darrington as well as parts of Arlington and Index, Neroutsos said.

The electricity was restored quickly at most of those north Snohomish County locations, and the hope was to get the power back on quickly elsewhere, he said.

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for much of the Puget Sound region early this morning. Winds are expected to die down by the early afternoon.

A stronger windstorm is expected to move into the area Thursday night, possibly bringing gale force winds.