High winds blew a tree down across U.S. Highway 101 near the Big Quilcene River Bridge about a mile south of Quilcene, downing power lines and closing the highway in both directions for more than an hour Thursday afternoon.
“It was just a big inconvenience,” said Trooper Krista Hedstrom, Washington State Patrol spokeswoman. “The cars were either waiting or turning around.”
Motorists were stopped from about 12:15 p.m. until 1:41 p.m., while state Department of Transportation and Puget Sound Energy workers cleared the fallen timber and repaired power lines.
There was no damage to any vehicle as a result of the fallen tree, Hedstrom said.
Kelly Stowe, Transportation spokeswoman, said the tree was about 22 inches in diameter and that PSE crews were quick to respond to the damaged power lines.
PSE spokeswoman Abigail Elliott said she did not know how the downed lines affected service to the area but that added short outages were scattered around the county most of the windy day.
Winds gusted as high as 43 mph in Port Townsend, and averaged around 23 mph, according to data from the Jefferson County Courthouse clock tower weather station.
Jefferson County’s JeffCom emergency dispatch reported power lines sparking small tree-branch fires around the county throughout the day.
In Port Townsend, it was a good day for the 50-car ferry Steilacoom II to be out of service for repairs to a generator.
Three- to four-foot seas reported on Port Townsend Bay would likely have been enough to keep the ferry tied up at the dock.
The ferry serving the route between Port Townsend and Keystone on Whidbey Island was expected to return to service today.
The National Weather Service reported southeast winds on Admiralty Inlet of 30 mph to more than 50 mph.
Hood Canal Bridge remained open despite high winds.
Transportation closes the bridge to traffic when winds are sustained at 35 mph for 15 minutes.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
