High winds cause outages, damage
Published 4:46 pm Tuesday, March 31, 2009
High winds are causing problems across Snohomish County and elsewhere in the region.
Limbs are knocking into power lines and an entire tree crashed into a home east of Lynnwood.
Just before 11:30 a.m., a 60-foot hemlock fell on a double-wide mobile home in the 20100 block of Filbert Road, Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said.
Two adults and five dogs were inside the home. They all got out safely, she said. The Red Cross is helping the people who lived there find another place to stay.
In the Lake Stevens area, nearly 1,000 homes and businesses lost power at about 10:30 a.m. today, Snohomish County PUD spokesman Mike Thorne said.
About 3,000 homes and business in western Marysville and Quil Ceda Village and in the Three Lakes area of Snohomish lost power just after 10 a.m., Thorne said. Power in those areas was swiftly restored, he said.
State Department of Transportation officials closed Stevens Pass for a few hours to clear avalanche danger. The highway reopened this afternoon. It was snowing and traction tires were advised over the pass.
Heavy rain showers with brief periods of hail are likely in the Snohomish County lowlands this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. Gusts up to 40 mph are forecast.
