Power Restoration Reaches 80% for Seattle Customers as Outages Drop to 4,889
High winds and rain left thousands without electricity Saturday night, but crews have restored service for most King County residents by Sunday afternoon.
By Emmanuel Obasi ·
Seattle City Light restored electricity to approximately 80% of the customers affected by Saturday night's storm. The utility reported that 6,783 customers in King County remained without power as of 10 a.m. on Sunday.
That figure represents a sharp decline from the peak outage numbers recorded just before midnight. At that time, the utility estimated that roughly 30,000 customers in its service area were in the dark. By 11:30 a.m., the count of affected customers had fallen further to 4,889.
Puget Sound Energy also reported a steady drop in outages across its service territory. The utility's map indicated that 21,656 customers were without power late Saturday night. By 10 a.m. Sunday, that number decreased to 7,713. At 11 a.m., the count had dropped to 5,198.
Snohomish County Public Utility District and Tacoma Public Utilities saw similar recovery trends. Snohomish County's outage map showed 449 customers without power, down from 9,106. By 11:30 a.m., only 222 customers remained affected. Tacoma Public Utilities reported 1,802 outages around midnight, a number that fell to 13 by Sunday morning.
Seattle City Light stated it is dispatching additional crews to the remaining outage sites. The utility said its teams are working to safely restore power as soon as possible.
The majority of the remaining outages in Seattle are concentrated in Capitol Hill. The utility's outage map shows impacts between Madison Street and Republican Street. At one point on Saturday, the utility was actively working on 143 distinct outages throughout the city.
Video captured by FOX 13 showed the physical damage caused by high wind gusts and rain. The footage displayed downed power lines, streetlights, and street signs lying in the street on Dexter Avenue in Seattle. Trees were also seen fallen across the roadway. In South Seattle, residents in areas like Burien continued to experience power interruptions.
Seattle City Light advised residents to treat downed power lines as live electricity and report them immediately. The utility recommended using flashlights instead of candles to reduce fire risk. Residents were told to keep refrigerator doors closed, as an unopened fridge can keep food cold for about four hours and a full freezer for about 48 hours.
To stay informed, the utility suggested using battery-powered radios and car chargers for mobile devices. Residents were advised to layer clothing for warmth and to manually open electronic garage doors. The utility noted that traffic lights may be out, creating dangerous road conditions for drivers who venture out for supplies.
