Electricity went out in the Sequim area on Friday afternoon for a few hours causing businesses to close early, local events to cancel or reschedule, and a record call load for Sequim-area first responders.
At approximately 4:45 p.m. Oct. 18, power shut off to about 14,000 Clallam PUD customers in Sequim, with Nicole Hartman, the agency’s communications manager, writing that crews patrolled for the outage’s cause in a Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) line somewhere in Happy Valley.
She said Monday that “a tree top fell through the line causing the PUD transmission outage in the Sequim area.”
Electricity was restored for many Sequim residences at 7:26 p.m. Friday with smaller outages fully restored in Sequim Saturday.
At 6:44 p.m. Friday, Hartman reported that the West End — Clallam Bay, Neah Bay, Sekiu and Forks — lost much of its power. She said at the peak of the outage, about 18,000 customers were without power across Clallam and Jefferson counties.
For the West End outages, she said a tree fell into a transmission line that feeds the Sekiu and Neah Bay areas that caused multiple spans of wire to fall in one area. Wind likely knocked two more power lines to the ground in the area, too.
Another tree fell into a Sappho BPA transmission line causing a separate outage, Hartman said.
Emergency calls
Battalion Chief Chris Turner with Clallam County Fire District 3 reports that the department saw a new record for a 24-hour shift with 56 calls on Oct. 18.
He said calls became more frequent around 4 p.m. with power lines down, followed by an individual transported via Life Flight Network for an active heart attack at 4:20 p.m.
During the outage, Turner said there were calls for oxygen tank issues, people stuck in electric chairs, commercial fire alarm activations where an air compressor quits and lets water into a dry system, and numerous other calls.
People were also briefly stuck in an elevator at 7 Cedars Hotel mid-floor but when firefighters responded the casino’s generator had already kicked in, he said.
Firefighters also responded to a fourplex structure fire at 2 a.m. Saturday on the 13oo block of South Third Avenue at Dominion Terrace with six people being displaced.
Residents and pets were safely evacuated, Turner said, and the fire’s cause, while not directly related to the power outage, remains under investigation.
Three of the four connected homes were heavily damaged, he said.
With October being Fire Prevention Month, Turner said residents should replace smoke alarms if they’re more than 10-years-old.
On Facebook, he wrote on the district’s page that for emergencies “to keep your flashlights charged up and have spare batteries, ensure you have fuel in your generators, water in your containers and food in the pantry.”
“It also helps to have battery backup charger for your cell phones so you can get updates!” he wrote. “These storms always pack a punch and being the first big one of the season, well it is a jarring wake up call.”
Other happenings
Most stores closed throughout the Sequim area with grocers, such as Safeway taking measures to preserve refrigerated and frozen food by covering up coolers. Staff at some businesses stood outside to alert customers of the outage.
Olympic Theatre Arts canceled its production of “Night of the Living Dead” on Friday night, and Sequim High School rescheduled its football game to 1 p.m. Saturday.
To report an outage to Clallam PUD, call 360-452-9771 or 800-542-7859. For tips on preparation, visit clallampud.net/outages-be-prepared/.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Staff at Sequim Walmart told customers about the outage on Oct. 18 that caused them and many businesses to close.
Image courtesy Clallam PUD/ Upwards of 18,000 customers lost power on Oct. 18 with the Sequim area mostly restored a few hours after the outage, according to Clallam PUD staff
