Update: 3:30 p.m. Nov. 19: Puget Sound Energy spokeswoman MacKenzie McDowell said most of the sporadic power outages in the area, including two that interrupted power to businesses in Issaquah earlier today, are being resolved quickly by crews patrolling lines where outages are reported.
Most of the sporadic outages around Sammamish and Issaquah have been caused by limbs breaking under the heavy rains of the last couple of days, McDowell said. Crews are investigating each report, and most have been soon resolved.
Once the tree causing the interruption in the line is removed, workers then patrol the rest of the circuit to make sure there are no other issues along the line before turning the power back on, similar to how you'd reset a breaker in your home.
Some places have not been so lucky. Vashon Island and Bainbridge Island have had susbstation problems, knocking power out to some 10,500 PSE customers today. About 4,500 customers in Thurston County have been affected, another 4,400 in North King County, and about 3,200 in South King County.
PSE hopes a forecast that calls for a lightening of the current weather system will allow it to catch up to the many small outages around the area, McDowell said.
In the meantime, power to shopping areas was restored earlier this afternoon, and PSE encourages residents to call 1-888-225-5773 if they experience an outage.
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Original story:
Power out in Trossachs in Sammamish and on the commercial Gilman Boulevard in Issaquah. A tree down on Duthie Hill Road. Signals out at Highway 900 and Newport Way in Issaquah.
So far, officials are scrambling to get up to speed with various outages. Puget Sound Energy told Patch it hadn't heard of the Trossachs outage earlier, but could confirm that at least 10,000 PSE customers were without power, mostly in Thurston County. aCity of Issaquah reported that stormwater conditions were largely under control earlier today, as did Sammamish Plateau Water & Sewer.
So far, Sammamish has had a few cases of water on the roadway, but no major problems, said Lisa Werre, a city of Sammamish stormwater technician. A number pf residents have approached the city in recent days inquiring about permits to remove trees that could pose a danger.
However, she said she's heard reports from staff in Issaquah that some city offices are working off and on on backup generators, and many Gilman Boulevard businesses, such as Safeway, have had power outages.
The cities ask residents to be diligent in keeping storm drains on their property clear of leaves and debris to help avert potential problems.
Patch is working on bringing you updates from city staff and Puget Sound Energy. Meanwhile, the forecast for the area is rain, rain, and more rain, with likely snow Wednesday night, Nov. 21.
Let us know if you're without power by commenting on this article, and we'll make sure PSE is aware of the problem.
For more tips on dealing with heavy rain and potential flooding, see this checklist on Take Winter by Storm, a group formed by public and private utilities of Western Washington.
If you're experiencing an outage or suspect a natural gas leak, call Puget Sound Energy 1-888-225-5773. Click here for real-time updates, or check Twitter.com/PSETalk.
If you rely on public transit, check the status of your ride on Metro Transit Alert Center’s website. Click here for metro's flood routes.
For a roundup of November storm-related info from around the web, see Patch's news aggregation here.
