Mighty winds' mighty big mess

By Leslie Fulbright, Ashley Bach and Jon Savelle
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

	MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES Mike Hebert, a lineman with Potelco of Sumner, hooks up phone and power lines yesterday to one of several poles that had to be replaced on 335th Place Southeast in Fall City.
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Power companies hope to restore electricity by the end of the weekend to thousands of homes and businesses left in the dark by the severe windstorm that battered a large swath of East and South King County.

About 60,000 customers remained without power late yesterday afternoon, as many residents spent the day cleaning up debris, sawing down fallen trees and trying to keep warm.

Communities in the eastern and southern parts of the county — including Enumclaw, Maple Valley, Buckley, Issaquah, Snoqualmie and North Bend — accounted for the majority of those still without power.

Crews from Arizona and California flew in to help restore power lines damaged by strong winds that started Wednesday night. In all, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) had 100 crews working in the field, said Dorothy Bracken, a PSE spokeswoman. They were able to restore lights to about 125,000 customers by yesterday and had replaced 110 power poles and strung 33 miles of power lines, she said.

Report wind damage King County is asking residents and businesses to report wind damage to the Office of Emergency Management for potential eligibility for federal disaster assistance. The county must collect and report information on uninsured damages on private property to the state. The office will take reports starting Monday. Call 206-296-3830 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

"Our priority is to get repairs to the transmission lines that bring power to the substations," Bracken said. "They distribute power to the neighborhoods. There are a considerable number of lines down."

PSE expects to have all power restored by tomorrow night, Bracken said.

The National Weather Service, which had predicted high winds tonight, revised its forecast and said it expected 10 to 15 mph winds with occasional rain, nothing like the 80 mph gusts that came through earlier in the week.

In Maple Valley, one of the hardest-hit areas, neighbors huddled and then worked together to clear massive trees and get through another day without electricity. One couple said a group of young men helped them remove a towering hemlock that crashed into their living room Thursday and moved on to other people in need.

Down the road, neighbors banded together in the Cherokee Bay development to clear a 100-foot fir from the street. They rolled pieces up steep driveways and over downed power lines, while some cars honked at them to get out of the way. Some residents grumbled when neighbors spray-painted their name on the wood, claiming it for future firewood or other uses.

Dozens of schools were closed and without power. Cedar River Middle School seventh-graders Devin Loux and Kayla Grant were at the library picking up a couple of CDs and the horror movie, "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Devin's house didn't have power, but the girls were headed to Kayla's house, where the lights were on.

Devin said the lack of power was "boring," but she wasn't complaining. "It's kind of fun because I get along with my family more because we don't have TVs and all that," she said.

The Maple Valley Community Center was open last night for those needing shelter and food, and some local hotels offered discounts to people forced from their homes.

In North Bend, the outlet mall was dark and deserted, but just across Mount Si Boulevard, the Shell gas station was bright and busy.

Recycle wood debris Rainier Wood Recyclers is offering free wood recycling drop-off service to help residents dispose of storm debris. Homeowners can drop off limbs and branches at no charge today at three different facilities, in Covington, Auburn and Fall City. The wood will be recycled and used for mulch, manufactured house siding, and industrial fuel. The offer is for residential customers only. For more information, call 253-630-3565.

Inside, Eyla Higgins was doing a brisk coffee business at her Espresso Beach drive-up window. That was a nice change from the previous day, she said, when the station was cold and useless.

"Yesterday they came by here, squealing tires and peeling out, looking for coffee," she said. "Some came here and asked for drip coffee instead, but I said, 'Honey, that takes electricity, too.' "

Other businesses reported a similar influx of locals looking for a bright, warm place with hot food and coffee. Anita Young, a waitress at Twede's Cafe, said the place was about twice as busy as usual yesterday.

"People have coffee, eat, then go home and kind of dread the cold weather," she said.

Many of the major roads that closed during the storm had reopened by yesterday. West Lake Sammamish Boulevard in Bellevue was closed for more than 24 hours.

	STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Kids from three families ignore the lack of heat and power yesterday at the Shannon Small household in the Mirrormont subdivision on Tiger Mountain and play a board game by the warm glow of a lantern.

In Bellevue, restaurants with power were hit yesterday morning by overflowing crowds, many of whom had no electricity at home. The wait for a table at Lil' Jon's in Bellevue's Sunset Village ran 30 to 45 minutes.

At the Bellevue Family YMCA, employees noticed more members coming in yesterday with children, many of whom had free time on their hands with school closed.

Eastside hotels were booked Thursday night, but rooms opened up as power was restored.

Although all Seattle City Light customers were back in business yesterday, Snohomish County had 3,500 customers without power. Most were in Snohomish, Monroe, Sultan and Gold Bar, according to Mike Thorne, Public Utility District spokesperson.

"We have over 50 crews working around the clock," Thorne said. "Our electric system infrastructure was damaged, so it's a big job."

Times staff reporter Sherry Grindeland contributed to this story. Leslie Fulbright: 206-515-5637 or lfulbright@seattletimes.com

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