SEATTLE – High winds cut electricity to tens of thousands of homes and businesses south and east of the city early Thursday, causing a substation to catch fire and shutting down schools in Snoqualmie.
Dorothy Bracken, a spokeswoman for Puget Sound Energy, said about 35,000 customers were in the dark Thursday morning, mostly in Des Moines, Normandy Park, Maple Valley and Enumclaw, as trees and tree limbs fell onto power lines.
One of the utility’s substations caught fire in Des Moines. No injuries were reported. Bracken said the precise cause and the extent of equipment damage had not been determined.
Schools were closed for the day for lack of power in the 4,400-student Snoqualmie School District.
The National Weather Service maintained a high wind warning for east winds in the western Cascade foothills from Mossyrock in Lewis County to Sultan in Snohomish County. Winds gusted as high as 65 mph at North Bend, east of Seattle.
Snow was forecast for Thursday evening over much of the northern half of Eastern Washington with a snow advisory issued for Leavenworth, Methow and Winthrop and a winter storm watch covering Colville, Omak, Tonasket, Republic and northern Idaho.
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