Repairs and cleanups were in progress across the North Olympic Peninsula on Saturday after three storms hit the area last week, the last creating massive electrical power outages in East Jefferson County.
After deluging Clallam and Jefferson counties with rain earlier in the week, Thursday’s storm seemed to skip lightly over Forks, Port Angeles and Sequim, which had some rain, winds and a few isolated power outages.
But it threw a knockout punch in the east as heavy gusts took down power lines and trees and spewed debris across roadways, with the worst of it hitting between 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
The Hood Canal Bridge closed at 10:53 p.m. Thursday because winds were blowing water into traffic lanes. It reopened at 12:49 a.m. Friday
On Thursday, Port Angeles had winds gusting to 22 mph, but to the east, Point Wilson in Port Townsend had sustained winds of 36 mph, the National Weather Service said.
JeffCom 9-1-1 lost power twice Thursday. Calls were automatically diverted to Peninsula Communications, or PenCom, in Clallam County.
Here is an update in the status of the storm aftermath:
Jefferson County
■ Power outages: About 600 to 800 Jefferson County Public Utility District customers remained without power late Saturday afternoon, said Jim Parker, the utility’s general manager.
Thursday’s windstorm knocked trees into power lines and caused at least brief outages for about 70 percent of the utility district’s 18,500 electrical customers.
About half the outages lasted for more than an hour, Parker said.
Repairs have been made in areas that had major outages, he said, adding that power may not be restored to all until Monday.
The PUD brought in five extra crews to help with repairs, he said.
Among the communities expected to be without power all weekend was Marrowstone Island, a community of 800 people.
Power was cut when wind and falling trees knocked down a pole on state Highway 116 just shy of the bridge that connects Port Hadlock to Marrowstone and Naval Magazine Indian Island.
Using generators to keep inventory fresh, the Nordland General Store stayed opening, serving customers as they shopped in the dark, with plans to open at 8 a.m. today.
“We can’t take credit cards, of course,” said employee John Malcomson on Friday, “but we’ll accept cash and checks.
“If someone doesn’t have either one, we’ll let them pay us later if they are locals.”
Indian Island was not inconvenienced because it has a full battery of generators, Graham said.
Areas expected to be back on the grid by this evening are the Coyle Peninsula and the area around Jefferson County International Airport.
Major outages affected Fort Flagler State Park, Nordland and Indian Island south to West Valley Road, as well as areas around Anderson Lake and Beausite Lake state parks.
Repairs also were needed to regions along U.S. Highway 101, including Quilcene, and Lindsay Hill and the north end of Dabob Bay, the strip along Admiralty Inlet from West Valley Road to Port Ludlow and an area around Chimacum Creek.
The Brinnon area, which is served by Mason County Public Utility District 1, suffered sporadic electrical outages throughout the week, and all power was restored by Friday, said spokeswoman Kristin Mastellar.
■ Flooding: The Olympic Peninsula chapter of the American Red Cross had closed a shelter set up at the Brinnon Community Center at 9 p.m. Thursday, Brinnon Fire Chief Patrick Nicholson said Friday.
Water had subsided by Saturday afternoon, with no new calls for assistance.
“Some people have returned to their homes,” Nicholson said.
“There is obvious extensive damage to homes in the area — trailers off their foundations, etc. — and road damage to residential areas.”
Eight people were rescued from their homes on the Dosewallips River during the week, and others fled flooded homes on their own.
Firefighters spent Wednesday night in a neighborhood helping residents.
Brinnon Fire Station 42 on Shorewood Drive also flooded and has an estimated $200,000 worth of damage.
■ Health concerns: No power-related health crises were reported, according to Keppie Keplinger of the county Department of Emergency Management.
Jefferson County Public Health cautioned residents about potential health issues from well water after the recent storms.
The health advisory suggested drinking bottled water instead or treating water by boiling it before drinking.
Public Health also advised those with septic systems not to use them when water is standing around on the ground around the tank as the ground below will not absorb water from sinks or toilets.
■ Storm debris: East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief Brian Tracer reminded residents who will be out cleaning up storm debris to check with their local fire district before burning branches and limbs.
■ State of emergency: On Thursday the Jefferson County commissioners declared a state of emergency, but Friday, Bob Hamlin, Emergency Management Department manager, said it was unlikely that federal aid will be made available for these storms, since the county didn’t meet the statewide thresholds for uninsured loss.
■ School closures: The Chimacum and Port Townsend school districts were closed Friday. Quilcene School District was open but canceled bus pickups on Snow Creek Road.
Clallam County
■ Power outages: Some 563 Clallam County PUD electrical customers between Lairds Corner and Lake Sutherland suffered power interruptions Wednesday because of line breaks caused by falling trees.
Power was restored to all by 4:24 a.m. Thursday.
■ Elwha River Bridge: The Elwha River Bridge over U.S. Highway 101 west of Port Angeles was closed for more than 12 hours, reopening at about 6 a.m. Thursday after fallen trees blocked passage both ways at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The state Department of Transportation found the only damage to the bridge itself was to a section of guardrail.
■ Port Angeles Harbor: Combine sewer overflows Wednesday and Thursday dumped about 3.5 million gallons of sewage and runoff water into Port Angeles Harbor, said Craig Fulton, city public works director.
The runoff came from four outfalls. Three of those — on Oak, Laurel and Francis streets — flow directly into the harbor, while the fourth, on Lincoln Street, flows into Peabody Creek before it enters the harbor.
About 360,000 gallons overflowed from three manholes on East First Street adjacent to Port of Port Angeles properties, Fulton said.
■ LaPush levy: Levies protecting LaPush held through the storm, said Quileute Tribal Chairman Chas Woodruff.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crews were shoring up the eroding levies Thursday, adding several hundred tons of rock to prevent further erosion.
“All is well in LaPush,” Woodruff said Friday. “We were very fortunate to have dodged the brunt of the last storm.”
■ West End: “It was really quite calm,” said Sgt. Brian King of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday night.
“We were prepared for the first and came through it. The third event was the least significant,” he said.
