News

2 dead; thousands lose power after windstorm

High winds and rain caused widespread outages and damage in the Seattle area. Get updated forecasts anytime with the KIRO 7 Weather App for Android and iPhones.

QUICK FACTS:

  • More than 150,000 in the Puget Sound area were without power
  • A 10-year-old girl killed by a tree in Federal Way
  • Man killed after tree hit his vehicle in Gig Harbor
  • I-5 had long backups near Lynnwood after downed trees
  • Traffic stopped early afternoon on I-405 near 232nd Street

POWER OUTAGES (as of Monday morning):

  • Seattle: 3,763
  • Puget Sound Energy: 37,000 affected

QUICK RESOURCES:

On Sunday, most power outages had been restored -- and the windstorm had passed.

Some areas remained without power. Seattle City Light reported over 6,500 customers were still affected.

https://twitter.com/SEACityLight/status/638145021129162752

Puget Sound Energy said Sunday evening that some residents may remain without power through Tuesday.

Spotty showers persisted in some areas of the Puget Sound.

Sunday, Washington did not experience the damaging winds of Saturday's storm; instead, winds were breezy.

Officials confirmed the man killed in a crash -- as a fallen tree landed on his car -- was the assistant general manager at Chambers Bay: 36-year-old Jamie Fay.

His 3-year-old daughter was inside of the car, but was not hurt.

The identity of a 10-year-old girl killed by a tree branch before a birthday party during Saturday's storm -- was not released on Sunday.

Saturday storm

11:00 pm

From Grays Harbor County PUD:

Crews continue to work to repair the damage done by 60 mph winds that moved over the Washington coast today.

South Beach - Significant damage done to lines continues to impact Grayland, Tokeland and Westport.

North Grays Harbor - Moclips, Pacific Beach and Taholah are still without power and maybe for much of the night. 

10:50 pm

Puget Sound Energy lowers their outage to 161,000.  Half of those are in Skagit and Whatcom counties.

10:30 pm

Tacoma PUD Down to about 2,200 without power. Crews  will work through the night. 

9:29 p.m.

Snohomish County Public Utilities Department reports crews are still working to restore 105,000 outages.

https://twitter.com/SnoPUD/status/637844320477835264

Power has been restored to thousands of Puget Sound Energy and Seattle City Light customers.

8:36 p.m.

Crews were rushing to saw, clear and chip a downed tree blocking the southbound lakes of Lake City Way Northeast at Northeast 125th Street. That's near the Bartell Drugs and BECU.

8:06 p.m.

The Seattle City Light outage number is down to 27,495 customers -- less than half of the roughly 56,000 customers during the peak of Saturday's outage. Most of the Maple Leaf neighborhood had power restored.

7:00 p.m.

Snohomish County PUD crews had power for over 50,000 customers restored. They were tackling around 120,000 remaining outages.

6:30 p.m.

A high wind warning for the Puget Sound area ended at 6:00 p.m., but heavy rains remained possible.

Puget Sound Energy reported 2,130 outages across their service area -- impacting almost 224,000 customers.

https://twitter.com/PSETalk/status/637799839791579136

5:47 p.m.

Seattle City Light reported having restored power to around 12,000 customers.

Around 46,000 customers were still without power.

Large outages remained for North Seattle, Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline.

5:31 p.m.

Two patients were rescued from the Puget Sound after their boat flipped.

They were found clinging to the boat at around 3:00 p.m.

The two were transported to a local hospital for evaluation; they were in stable condition.

The rescue occurred near Day Island, according to West Pierce Fire officials.

https://twitter.com/WestPierce/status/637781239454281729

5:17 p.m.

Four people were injured during Saturday’s windstorm—at the Deuces Wild Triathlon at Shoreline Park, according to officials with Northwest Guardian, the website for Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

JBLM paramedics attended to four injured people, who were taken to Madigan Army Medical Center.

They were in good condition, as of Saturday afternoon.

A tree fell onto a parked car, which three people were standing close to.

The fourth injury resulted from ‘falling trees and limbs along the [triathlon] course,’ according to the Northwest Guardian.

4:51 p.m.

Seattle City Light advised around 48,000 customers were affected by power outages.

KIRO 7 received a video from a viewer, Bob Whittier, of four people, including children—being pulled from a van after a tree limb crashed onto it. 
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4:07 p.m.

A Comcast spokesman didn’t have details on whether the company would offer refunds for windstorm-related outages Saturday, and did not know if service would be back before the Seahawks kickoff against San Diego. The spokesman also did not give the total number of Xfinity customers affected.

“Today's severe windstorm has caused numerous commercial power outages that have affected Comcast customers as well as impacted our plant in some areas,” spokesman Walter Neary said in a written statement. “In Seattle, there was a power outage at our ‘head-end’ or physical data center facility, responsible for the distribution of our services to the Seattle area. We are coordinating with our valued power partners and restoration of this facility is a top priority for all parties.​  At this time we are not able to provide an estimated time for restoration, but be assured that we are doing everything possible to ensure Hawks fans can enjoy today's game.”

3:30 p.m.

Puget Sound Energy map shows 223,889 customers are without power. The utility tweeted that Seahawk fans "make alternative plans for [the] game tonight."

https://twitter.com/PSETalk/status/637753446146306048

2:54 p.m.

Snohomish County PUD said over 100,000 customers were affected by power outages.

Crews were assessing damages for restoration efforts. Follow KIRO 7 News on Facebook for updates on power outages and damage.

JUST IN: Seattle City Light power outages have increased to include 58,054 affected customers. Puget Sound Energy...

Posted by KIRO 7 Eyewitness News on Saturday, August 29, 2015

2:45 p.m.

The Seattle Central Public Library closed for the rest of day -- citing electrical power issues.

https://twitter.com/SPLBuzz/status/637743258341392384

2:30 p.m.

Large sections of the city of Puyallup was left without power.

Police advised drivers to treat dark intersections as a four way stop: "Slow down and be cautious."

2:16 p.m.

A 10-year-old Burien girl was killed when a wind-blown tree branch struck her, police confirmed. She was struck her outside the Trellis Apartments in Federal Way, where she had spent the night with a friend. The girl's identity was not immediately released.

2:14 p.m.

A fallen tree was blocking all lanes of northbound Interstate 5 just north of 44th in Lynnwood, the State Department of Transportation said. The backup is 3-5 miles and growing.

2:00 p.m.

Seattle City Light power outages have increased to include 58,054 affected customers.

Puget Sound Energy reports over 130,000 customers without power.

https://twitter.com/SamArgierKIRO7/status/637732142919782400

1:30 p.m.

Over 50,000 customers affected by Seattle City Light power outages.

https://twitter.com/KIRO7Seattle/status/637722368610299904

Traffic was stopped at I-405 near 232nd Street SE for a tree down in the roadway.

https://twitter.com/KIRO7Seattle/status/637721828803411968

12:30 p.m.

At around 12:30 p.m., Puget Sound Energy was reporting over 80,000 customers affected.

By 1:00 p.m., over 130,000 customers were without power.

Seattle City Light reported around 28,935 customers without power at 12:50 p.m.

https://twitter.com/KIRO7Seattle/status/637711508206690304

https://twitter.com/KellyKIRO7/status/637687022748958720

11:00 a.m.

Strong gusts of wind were reported out of Mason County.

https://twitter.com/NWSSeattle/status/637678899791458304

A system was expected to move in on Saturday -- bringing heavy downpours and the chance of thunderstorms.

Winds will also be picking up during the late morning and early afternoon with gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range around Puget Sound.

The Olympic National Park reported high winds throughout the park on Saturday morning -- and many trees down.
All roads into the park and all campgrounds were closed.
<center>https://twitter.com/OlympicNP/status/637687234401972224<center/>

Gusty and erratic winds will also be a challenge for firefighters along the fire lines this weekend. Scattered showers are expected to continue Sunday through the middle of next week.

https://twitter.com/KIRO7Seattle/status/637686164401561600

Rainfall totals through the course of the weekend will be impressive around Puget Sound; most neighborhoods will pick up between one and two inches of rainfall. East of the Cascades, rainfall totals will not be nearly as high.

>> PUGET SOUND ENERGY OUTAGE MAP

One person in Gig Harbor died Saturday morning -- in what officials called a 'fatality tree versus car' crash.

https://twitter.com/MariaKIRO7/status/637719920873050113

What does this mean for wildfire zones?

The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning on Thursday for the fires near Okanogan, saying weather conditions had the potential to spread the flames.

"All the lines are holding," Bernie Pineda, spokesman for the 450-square-mile fire, said Thursday afternoon.

He said winds were actually pushing portions of the giant fire back on itself. The warning is in effect for Saturday at 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Omak to Spokane.

Heading into the weekend, wind could be a big problem.

A high wind watch is out for northern Washington east of the Cascades on Saturday.

High Wind Watch out for northern Washington east of the Cascades on Saturday.  Winds from the southwest could hit at 20 to 35 mph and gusts at 40-60.

Last year’s Carlton Complex fires saw huge flash floods and mudslides from a big thunderstorm.

A NOAA meteorologist told KIRO 7 it could occur with as little as a quarter inch of rain.

While he says rain is good and could help -- the ground has just been so dry -- water doesn't simply just soak into the ground.

The blazes in Okanogan, which has the largest complex of fires in the state, killed three firefighters last week and have burned at least 40 homes and 40 outbuildings. Find ongoing wildfire updates in this story.

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