The aftermath of a storm that left 50,000 Kitsap County residents without power is keeping businesses busy.
Stranded vehicles have kept the phones ringing at local businesses such as Kitsap Towing and company owner Ron Madler said the storm was one of the worst in terms of accidents.
“The fact that it came during a holiday week was a big factor,” Madler said.
Because the storm hit three days before Thanksgiving, the increased traffic due to holiday travel caused more accidents than usual, he said. Madler could not give an exact number of calls the company responded to, but he said the company has responded to more than 300 calls in the past five days.
With the warming temperatures and rain melting the remaining ice on the roads, it has made it possible for tow truck drivers to tow vehicles that were previously unreachable. The areas in Kitsap drivers have the most difficulty with are Bainbridge Island – because of steep driveways going to waterfront homes-Jefferson Point and Hansville.
Drivers worked well into the night on Nov. 22 and Madler said most exceeded 12 hour shifts and he said the power outage significantly slowed the company’s response time. One of the repeater towers the company uses for two-way radios went down for 36 hours, forcing workers to use cell phones that are not as reliable as the radios.
As of Friday afternoon, Madler said the company still had about 50 calls to respond to.
Towing cars stranded by the storm is not the only work still being done. Puget Sound Energy continues to work on small pockets of the county and burst pipes keep the phones ringing at Swift Plumbing & Heating in Kingston.
Though phone calls mean more business, which Bev Swift can’t complain about, she said the office has been empty except for her because the staff is so busy.
“It’s a real boost for us, but its crazy right now. Our phones are ringing off the hook,” Swift said.
The majority of power was restored by Wednesday night, but areas-mainly in Silverdale, Port Orchard and Bremerton-are still without power, said Puget Sound Energy spokesperson Dorothy Bracken.
“This was a tough one,” Bracken said referring to the storm.
Work crews responded to more than 200 hundred locations since Monday. The company was so overloaded with calls that it brought in 80 work crews-50 from Puget Sound Energy and 30 from Oregon and Canada.
Because of the cars strewn about the roads, crews had difficulty accessing some of the locations that needed service, Bracken said.
Additional problems arrived when power began to be restored. Because of the combination of freezing temperatures and an increased need for electricity, fuses attached to power lines blew, Bracken said. The fuses that blew were primarily attached to underground power lines, which could not handle the demand.
The day after the storm hit, a meeting was held to discuss how Puget Sound Energy could respond more efficiently, but Bracken said there is only so much the company can prepare for.
“Every storm is different,” Bracken said. “They always cause new challenges, but we learn from every storm.”
The National Weather Service is predicting rain showers through the weekend with temperatures dropping to the mid to low 30s at night, with highs in the lower 40s. Winds are expected to pick up to 15 mph Saturday afternoon.
Schools will be open next week, but the district buildings are experiencing technical issues with internet capabilities according to a press release received on Nov. 24. For information on school closures call the school emergency line: (360) 779-3971.
