EVERETT — Five days after a windstorm ripped through Snohomish County, about 4,500 remained without power as of Wednesday evening.
The Snohomish Public Utility District was optimistic those customers would get their power back no later than Thursday, PUD spokesperson Kellie Stickney said.
“If there are folks still out of power Friday, it would be very few,” she said. “I could say with a high level of confidence we won’t have anyone out on Saturday.”
About 220,000 — 60% of the utility’s customers — lost power in the late-night storm on Nov. 4, said John Haarlow, the PUD’s CEO and general manager, in a video message Monday. “This storm turned out to be one of the biggest we ever experienced,” he said, with trees and limbs downing power lines.
The PUD restored power for another 20,000 customers between Monday and Wednesday. Fewer than 150 outages remained across Everett, according to a map.
On Camano Island, an estimated 2,000 still had no power on Wednesday.
“The damage on Camano was just incredible,” Stickney said, noting seven crews were dedicated to repairs on Camano. “They have a lot of trees out there and especially got hit hard by the winds. There were gusts up to 65 mph.”
Stickney said 27 mutual aid crews were assisting 14 in-house crews across the PUD’s service area. The crews hailed from Grays Harbor, Grant, Pierce, Clark, Benton, Okanogan, Douglas and Chelan counties.
She said the PUD has standing agreements with other utilities for mutual aid and reimburse them for work. Likewise, the PUD supports other utilities in need. The PUD also contracted with electric and tree companies for extra help.
“The support we received from other utilities has been phenomenal,” she said.
Stickney said the PUD has not heard of any deaths or injuries during the dayslong power outage. No crew members have been injured either. She said the utility can prioritize restoring power for customers with urgent medical needs. Those customers should call the PUD at 425-783-1001.
Jacqueline Allison: 425-339-3434; jacqueline.allison@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jacq_allison.
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