Reporting in from Clark County
As might be expected, there are many power outages around Clark County. From The Columbian:
The wind picked up pretty fiercely in Vancouver this afternoon. Our household lost power shortly before 4 pm, and a friend of mine lost power around 3 pm. Our power was restored after about an hour.
Our family spent about 15 minutes this evening looking out a window watching what we took to be transformer failures erupt in a line from south to north.
Amazingly, we've only experienced the one power outage so far, although I will be surprised if we make it through the night without another one. Oregon is experiencing numerous power outages and downed trees as well.
If you have power tonight, count yourself lucky. And at the risk of seeming preachy, if you see a downed power line or are trapped by one in your car, be smart and call for help rather than take a chance.
More: KGW is reporting on air that some 225,000 PGE customers are without power right now, as are around 21,000 Clark PUD customers.
UPDATE from the Executive Director, 11 PM: There are also plenty of power outages up here in the Central Puget Sound, including here in Redmond where I am writing from now. Pacific NW Portal's Winter Weather Preparedness section includes tips on getting by when you're without power.
Clark Public Utilities reported 21,000 customers without power as of 9:07 p.m., including but not limited to areas in and around Battle Ground, Brush Prairie, north Camas, Cascade Park, Felida, Hazel Dell, Hockinson, La Center, Livingston Mountain, Orchards, Ridgefield, Walnut Grove, including the Vancouver Mall area, and Woodland. Police agencies also reported power outages in Yacolt.Northwest Cable News is running a crawl stating that an Amtrak train is trapped by fallen trees just north of Vancouver.
At 8:55 p.m., Columbian weather columnist Pat Timm recorded a 60 mph wind gust in the Salmon Creek area. He said gusts should continue at this level for several hours and could increase by another 10 mph at around 11 p.m.
The wind picked up pretty fiercely in Vancouver this afternoon. Our household lost power shortly before 4 pm, and a friend of mine lost power around 3 pm. Our power was restored after about an hour.
Our family spent about 15 minutes this evening looking out a window watching what we took to be transformer failures erupt in a line from south to north.
Amazingly, we've only experienced the one power outage so far, although I will be surprised if we make it through the night without another one. Oregon is experiencing numerous power outages and downed trees as well.
If you have power tonight, count yourself lucky. And at the risk of seeming preachy, if you see a downed power line or are trapped by one in your car, be smart and call for help rather than take a chance.
More: KGW is reporting on air that some 225,000 PGE customers are without power right now, as are around 21,000 Clark PUD customers.
UPDATE from the Executive Director, 11 PM: There are also plenty of power outages up here in the Central Puget Sound, including here in Redmond where I am writing from now. Pacific NW Portal's Winter Weather Preparedness section includes tips on getting by when you're without power.
