POULSBO — Silverdale to Port Orchard was hard hit by last night’s storm, which rendered approximately 30,000 Puget Sound Energy customers without power as of 8 a.m. Nov. 18.
“At least 25 of our transmission lines need to be repaired,” PSE’s Ray Lane reported. “They are a priority since they provide electricity to tens of thousands of customers. Several of our smaller substations in more remote areas are currently offline. Our distribution system is also impacted. These are the power lines in neighborhoods serving homes and businesses.”
Lane reported that helicopters are patrolling PSE’s transmission corridors to assess damage.
In Kitsap County, “our damage assessors are finding additional areas of damage of varying degrees. Silverdale south to Port Orchard is particularly hard hit. Number of customers without power: approximately 30,000.”
Systemwide, as of 8 a.m. Nov. 18, there are about 600 outage locations and roughly 100,000 PSE customers without power. At the peak of the storm late Nov. 17, 220,000 customers were without power.
“With so much widespread damage, some customers may be without power for days,” Lane reported.
“Joining our servicemen and linemen out in the field are 32 additional crews from other areas to assist with restoration efforts. The storm impacted our transmission and distribution systems, including some of our substations. Crews worked through the night and, at this point, eight of the 33 damaged transmission lines have been repaired and 24 of the 32 impacted substations have been re-energized.”
He added, “There’s a process to our restoration efforts. First, the damage must be assessed. Next, we prioritize the response and dispatch our crews. After restoring power to critical services (such as hospitals), we focus on repairs that restore power to the greatest number of customers as quickly as we can.”
Lane reminded residents to stay clear of all downed power lines and stay clear of any debris in contact with power lines. Always assume a downed power line is energized and dangerous. Call PSE at 888-225-5773 or 911 to report them.
FERRIES
The Edmonds/Kingston ferry route went back into service Nov. 17 with the 9:40 p.m. sailing from Kingston and the 10:25 p.m. sailing from Edmonds. However, the overhead walk way at the Edmonds terminal is out of service. Passengers will need to load and off load from the car deck.
ROAD CLOSURES
As of 6 a.m. Nov. 18, the following roads on the Kitsap Peninsula are reported closed.
Most roads involve trees down with wires entangled, the Kitsap County public information office reported. Puget Sound Energy crews are responding and roads will be reopened as the wires are cleared.
— Old Holly Hill Road NW near the south end of the loop.
— Hood Canal Drive at Cliffside Road.
— Nelita Road at the 90-degree turn.
— Bodine Road off Eglon Road.
— NW Hintzville Road at NW Starwood Lane.
— NW Kloshi Road at Lake Tahuya Road NW.
— Williams Lane between Retsil Road E and Arnold Avenue E.
— Bethel-Burley Road between Lakeway and Burley-Olalla.
— Wilson Creek Road south of Sedgewick.
— Glenwood Road SW between SW Ritchie Drive and SW Christmas Tree Lane.
— Noll Road NE near the city limits about .5 miles south of the roundabout.
— NE Columbia Street between Brockton Avenue NE and NE Middle Street.
— Mountain View Road between Kegley Road NW and Levin Road NW.
— Erlands Point Road NW between 3910 and 4073 Erlands Point Road NW.
— South Kingston Road NE between NE Arness Road and NE White Horse Drive.
— Seabeck Highway NW between NW Anderson Hill Road and Wade Road NW.
— NW Pioneer Road the entire length south of the intersection with Seabeck Highway NW.
— Seabeck Holly Road/NW Hite Center Road intersection.
— Seabeck Highway NW between NW Holly Road and NW Marks Road and at Old Sawmill Place NE.
— Lewis Road NW east of the intersection with Peter Hagen Road NW.
ONLINE RESOURCES
— Washington State Ferries alerts
— Puget Sound Energy outage map
— Road closures, and downed trees and power lines
