Winds cut wide swath through region

By Leslie Fulbright
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

	HARLEY SOLTES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Jodi Auman was inside this house, belonging to boyfriend Kevin Gladden, in the Cherokee Bay development when a tree — one of three — tore through it, just missing her on the couch downstairs.
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Puget Sound Energy had restored power to more than 85,000 customers by Friday morning, with 100,000 still in the dark. One person was seriously injured when a tree fell on a car.

The wind storm brought winds gusting up to 80 mph in some places, shutting dozens of schools and wreaking havoc on many major roads.

The high winds subsided briefly overnight but another storm system is likely to move into southwest British Columbia and could generate even stronger winds across much of Western Washington as early as tonight.

Even without more stormy weather, it probably will take at least four days to get all the lights back on, Puget Sound Energy spokeswoman Dorothy Bracken said this morning.

Yesterday's strong gusts ripped trees from the ground and flung branches all over arterial roads and into power lines. The wind damage cut a swath stretching from Enumclaw to Monroe and drastically curtailed power in the area, according to representatives at Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light and the Snohomish County Public Utility District.

The King County Sheriff's Office said a tree fell on a car in Maple Valley, trapping two people inside. Spokesman John Urquhart said at least one person was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with serious injuries.

Puget Sound Energy had 60 crews with more than 200 workers working to repair damage from fallen trees and tree limbs, and 40 crews with about 160 workers were on the way to help from utilities and private companies in Eastern Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, Bracken said.

The weather was so bad in Enumclaw and Maple Valley yesterday that city officials ordered residents to stay indoors and off the streets and to shut off their natural gas if they smelled an odor.

All schools were closed in Enumclaw, Issaquah, Monroe and Snoqualmie, while some schools in the Lake Washington, Bellevue and Riverview districts also were closed. More school closures were expected today.

"It's hell out here," said Michelle Petersen of North Bend, who took the day off to sit in her dark house and hope the falling evergreens didn't cause her to lose more than a few roof shingles.

"There has been damage to high-voltage transmission lines into substations," said Puget Sound Energy spokeswoman Dorothy Bracken. "The weather system is hindering the efforts of our crews. We are anticipating it will be quite a while."

In Maple Valley, dozens of homes were heavily damaged across the city and in the Cherokee Bay housing community.

Jodi Auman, 36, had just lain down on the couch when a tree tore through the roof of her house, cut through the living room upstairs and came to rest within inches of her head.

"I thought there was an earthquake coming," Auman said. Shattered glass, shreds of wall insulation and scattered debris littered her home. A few pieces hit her, but she was not seriously injured. Two more trees later fell on her house. "

"I have never ever been through anything like this," she said.

Geoffrey Griffin awoke about 3:30 a.m. yesterday to the sounds of branches crashing down around his Snoqualmie Ridge home. He and his wife brought their kids downstairs and sat in front of a fire, growing more frightened as the winds picked up. About 5:30 a.m., a 90-foot cedar tree landed on top of the house.

"It shook like an earthquake and sounded like an airplane hit our house," Griffin said. "Now, it looks like a tornado came through here."

	DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES Flashlights are used yesterday to help swimmers find their way after power went out at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way.

The family evacuated at 6 a.m.

Snoqualmie, North Bend and Fall City resembled ghost towns, with nearly all the stores and restaurants closed without power. Streetlights swung and stop signs shook. Police, energy and city crews cruised the streets warning people of the dangers.

Jon Oren was trapped in a parking space near his Preston home after trees fell on both sides of his SUV. After maneuvering for nearly 15 minutes, he joined other drivers making countless U-turns throughout the area looking for ways to get around streets buried by trees.

Yesterday's weather problems stemmed from a strong front just offshore. The air flow brought a low-pressure system from the coast to Eastern Washington. The mountains acted like a dam, and wind crashed west resulting in the gusts and sustained winds that pummeled the area.

At the same time, high-pressure air was forced through gaps and valleys, emerging on the western side of the mountains with increased force, explained Carl Cerniglia of the National Weather Service in Seattle. Spots like Enumclaw, Des Moines, Auburn and North Bend experienced sustained winds in the 50-60-mph range and gusts as high as 80 mph, he said.

Foresters weren't surprised that trees on the Sammamish Plateau were hit particularly hard. When high winds came down from Snoqualmie Pass, they fanned out along the plateau, where forested areas have been logged in the past half-century, or where new development is dotted with relatively young trees or the occasional, isolated older one. Either phenomenon can lead to a less stable environment for the trees.

"Timber harvests or development often leave just a few trees behind, called leave trees, or buffers, which simply means they're far more exposed to the wind," said Benj Wadsworth, forestry program coordinator with King County's Department of Natural Resources. "When you have just a few trees together, that can lead to blowdowns."

Eastside Fire and Rescue was overwhelmed with 100 calls between midnight and noon yesterday and called in for off-duty and volunteer aid.

"A lot of trees down, a lot of power lines down, a lot of small fires. We had to tap into all our resources," said spokeswoman Josie Williams. An emergency command post was set up in Issaquah, which dispatched calls over the radio after the 911 system became overwhelmed, Williams said.

Wind forced closure of several major roadways, delaying drivers and shutting down construction projects.

	HARLEY SOLTES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Jodi Auman, left, and Kevin Gladden look at the damage caused by three trees that tore into their home yesterday in Maple Valley. Auman was in the house but uninjured.

A tree crashed over a noise wall onto the northbound onramp from Highway 520 to Interstate 405 in Bellevue just after 2 p.m. State Patrol and state Department of Transportation road crews responded, and the tree was cleared within 12 minutes.

Two power poles were blown over onto Highway 169 near Green Valley Road, north of Enumclaw. Crews estimated the road would be closed overnight. Fallen trees closed Highway 18 between Issaquah-Hobart Road and Interstate 90 east of Issaquah early yesterday and shut down construction work on the Highway 18 widening project.

In Bellevue, a portion of West Lake Sammamish Parkway Southeast was closed because of a fallen tree. A downed tree over power lines also closed 132nd Avenue Northeast between Northeast 24th Street and Northeast 60th Street and forced the closure of several other arterials for short periods. The power outage also forced closure of nearly all of the Factoria Mall.

In Snohomish County, about 6,000 customers were without power from the storm. While initial outages were located between Snohomish and Sultan, winds continued to knock out power throughout the day in Lynnwood and Edmonds, county PUD officials said.

At one point, more than 8,000 customers were without power.

Times staff reporters Maria Gonzalez, Natalie Singer, Cara Solomon, Jennifer Sullivan and Craig Welch and the Associated Press contributed to this story. Leslie Fulbright: 206-515-5637 or lfulbright@seattletimes.com

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