Power was expected to return this morning to all Clallam County residents still without electrical service after crews continued this weekend to mop up the mess made by a week’s worth of rain and wind.
As of Saturday evening, about 3,500 Clallam County Public Utility District customers without power. About 1,500 of those were in the Joyce area who lost power because of a transmission line going down across the Elwha River.
On Wednesday night, an estimated 16,846 customers — 4,846 in Port Angeles and 12,000 serviced by the PUD — lost power. Port Angeles ccustomers were back on the grid by Thursday morning and power was restored to much of the West End by Thursday night.
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory that will remain in effect until 10 a.m. today for most of Clallam County.
To restore power to the 1,500 customers without electricity in the Joyce area, PUD crews had to rebuild a road to access the power line about a quarter-mile north of the new Elwha River Road bridge.
“It was quite the challenge,” PUD spokesman Jeff Beaman said.
“But they rose to it.”
Beaman said the line was rebuilt Saturday and was expected to be energized by early today.
But even with power restored, some county residents still will face some weather-related problems.
On Camp David Jr. Road along Lake Crescent, about three or four residents were blocked Friday by a 100-yard-long landslide, said Clallam County Engineer Ross Tyler.
He said county and Olympic National Park crews won’t be able to begin removing the slide until Monday because they first remove trees that could fall because they pose a danger to workers.
A state Department of Transportation worker, Neal Richards, was killed by a falling branch Thursday while he was clearing a downed tree alongside U.S. Highway 101.
Tyler said the crews will continue removing loose trees from the sides of Camp David Jr. Road today. The slide may take up to two days to remove, he said.
State Highway 112 between Joyce and Clallam Bay was reopened at noon Saturday after being closed Thursday.
PUD General Manger Doug Nass said the PUD plans to add a new substation south of Joyce next year to “greatly improve reliability to that area.”
He said crews worked under difficult conditions.
“Our crews and all of the personnel supporting them have done an excellent job under very trying and hazardous circumstances,” Nass said.
“We had as much as one-third of our 30,000 customers without power at the peak of the storms.”
Some people had been without power for days by Saturday, including the Lower Elwha Klallam reservation.
The PUD also restored power to 1,100 Forks customers who were in the dark Friday afternoon because of a circuit problem at the Forks substation, Beaman said.
Winds pose a double threat because they can knock down trees and take power lines with them.
County roads saw their share of downed tress last week. The worst of the damage was seen on the outskirts of Port Angeles on Sandhagen, Eden Valley, Old Mill and Black Diamond roads, said Tyler.
“It looks just like a bomb went off,” Tyler said Friday.
“It’s like Mount St. Helens. You wouldn’t believe the timber that’s down.”
He said wouldn’t be surprised if winds exceeded 100 mph in the foothills during last week’s storms.
As of Saturday, every county road was “passable,” although trees still were on several roads in the hills.
Before clearing fallen trees that have power lines on their limbs, county crews must first get PUD confirmation that a power line is safely grounded. County and PUD policy dictates this precaution, Tyler said.
Even a line that appears to be dead can pose a serious danger if someone is running a generator nearby.
“Somebody may have a generator back-feeding improperly putting full voltage into the line,” Tyler explained.
As PUD crews scrambled to restore power on Friday, county crews found themselves waiting for clearance to get cutting.
“They kind of need a triage team just to go around and certify the lines are dead,” Tyler said.
“We’ll be meeting in a week or so to revisit how we deal with these storms,” he added. “Our coordination with the PUD should be much better.”
Tyler said the West End was faring better than the rest of the county for storm damage on Friday.
Jamye Wisecup, Clallam County Department of Emergency management program coordinator, said the worst of the storm was Wednesday.
She received a handful calls on Friday from people who experienced isolated flooding because of backed up culverts.
“Maple leaves are just hideous,” Tyler said.
The county shut down its Emergency Operations Center at 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, the same day that the three Clallam County commissioners declared a state of emergency during a special meeting.
Wisecup said the biggest storm-related concern has become food preservation for customers whose power has been out for a few days.
The Clallam County Department of Health and Human Services warned residents on Friday to throw away all meat, dairy products or cooked foods that don’t feel cold to the touch.
Olympic National Park officials announced that the Hoh River flooded early Thursday and inundated some campgrounds and roads.
Hurricane Ridge Road is closed this weekend because of snow and ice.
A flooded Indian Creek closed the eastbound lane of Highway 101 at Milepost 235 for about 30 minutes Friday.
No flood warnings remained in effect Saturday.
Transportation on Friday reopened U.S. Highway 101 at Milepost 231 at Lake Crescent after a mud and rock slide blocked the eastbound lane.
Crews also reopened U.S. Highway 101 at Milepost 303 near Brinnon on Friday after a fallen tree had blocked the northbound lane.
The Jefferson County commissioners declared a state of emergency Friday for a washout on the Dosewallips Road two miles west of its intersection with U.S. Highway 101.
The declaration allowed the county to bypass some regulations so repairs could begin immediately.
The road is closed to all but local traffic, and flaggers are moving traffic across a single lane. There is currently no time line for repairs to be completed.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Erik Hidle also contributed to this report.