Pierce County Power Outages: Schools Closed, PSE Working Fast

PIERCE COUNTY, WA - Nearly 50,000 Puget Sound Energy customers are still without power Monday morning following a severe windstorm that hit the region with 60 mph gusts early Sunday. As of 6 a.m. Jan. 7, power outages persist in King, Pierce, and Thurston counties, with PSE officials identifying South King County as the hardest hit, followed by rural Pierce County.

PSE crews working immediately after the first outages were reported successfully restored power to more than 250,000 customers throughout the day Jan. 6, PSE announced in a Monday update. The crews are reportedly working to clean up and assess damage caused by numerous fallen trees.

At least four Pierce County school districts have canceled classes Monday, with Orting School District running on a two-hour delay. School districts that have reportedly announced full closures for the day are Carbonado, Dieringer, Puyallup, and Sumner-Bonney Lake.

PSE expects to restore power throughout the region as the day carries on; but due to extensive damage in some of the hardest hit areas, power may not be completely restored until midweek, officials said.

The last Pierce County customers without power should be returned to service by 9 p.m. Jan. 9, PSE estimates, while the last South King County customers without power should be restored by 6 a.m. Jan. 10.

Most customers will be restored sooner, officials said, noting estimated restoration times and other updates can be found at PSE.com/OutageMap or by using the myPSE app. To report an outage, visit PSE.com/Outage.

"Since yesterday, crews have repaired 14 of 32 damaged transmission line segments and restored 16 of 20 substations that were without power. The combination of transmission lines and substations is critical to powering up your homes and businesses," PSE said. "We know it’s difficult for our customers to be without power, especially on cold days. Our crews are working as quickly as they can to safely assess damage and make repairs to equipment.

"Our crews and servicemen are assisted by damage assessment teams, safety crews, road flaggers and hundreds of support staff working to restore power," PSE's alert continued. "As damage assessment teams complete their on-the-ground surveys, we will provide updated estimated restoration times. As we have new information, these estimated restoration times may change, as they are estimates only. We will update you with the best information we have, as we have it."

As crews work to restore power and clean up damage, local fire and police agencies remind all residents to use extreme caution when traveling throughout the area.

One specific alert advised travelers to avoid riding over any downed power lines they come across. One bicyclist failed to do so on Sunday and ended up needing emergency medical care.

For the latest from PSE on Twitter, follow the agency at @PSETalk.

Click here for the latest Pierce County weather-related road closures and delays.

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