Downed power lines cause brief outage, prompt closure of truck route

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 12, 2023

PORT ANGELES — Blown transformers and downed powerlines knocked out power briefly in downtown Port Angeles and other areas of the city and prompted the closure of the Tumwater Truck Route on Wednesday afternoon.

The incident occurred at about 4:15 p.m. The cause was under investigation by the Port Angeles Public Utility District and Port Angeles Police Department.

The Tumwater Truck Route was to remain closed to traffic until the city utility arrived to de-energize the live lines.

Public Works Director Mike Healy said at about 5:15 p.m. that it was an isolated outage, knocking down two lines. He expected power to return in three to four hours.

Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith said residents should expect intermittent power outages as city utility workers respond to the area.

Smith also said that when the powerlines came down at the Port Angeles Boat Haven and along Marine Drive, the lines were live and led to a small brush fire along the boat haven.

The fire was quickly extinguished by Port Angeles Fire Department.

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Reporter Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladailynews.com.