Snow turns to ice, cutting power to thousands
January 19, 2012
By Ari Cetron
Updated: Jan. 19, 5:57 p.m.
The Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District has issued a winter storm warning. Some of the district’s pumps have failed as a result of the power outage. The district is asking residents to conserve water, and not flush toilets (particularly residents who use grinder pumps (if you have one, you know) unless its necessary.
The city is broadcasting on its emergency station, 540 am, listen there for updates from city officials.
If you’re a Sammamish resident reading this online, consider yourself lucky.
More than 12,600 Sammamish homes – well over three quarters of the city – are without power after snow turned to sleet and freezing rain today, toppling trees. City officials report that it’s unclear when power may be restored, but say it could be a matter of days. More than a quarter million customers are without power across the region and Puget Sound Energy has recruited crews from around the country to respond to more than 515 separate outages.
City officials have declared a state of emergency and are offering up City Hall as a shelter until midnight tonight, but do not have the staff to keep it open overnight, Mayor Tom Odell said. Officials hope to keep it open until 11 p.m.
Odell advised residents to exercise patience and wait for temperatures to thaw. City Hall is scheduled to reopen at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow morning.
“The best thing to do is stay where you are and ride this thing out,” Odell said.
Warm, moist air high up and freezing temperatures near the ground led to precipitation falling that starts as rain and freezes before hitting the ground, coating roadways and trees with a layer of ice. National Weather Service forecasters expect a mix of snow and freezing rain to continue throughout today before the temperature rises above freezing early Friday morning. An additional inch of snow is possible. The snow is expected to quickly turn to a slushy mess Friday, when temperatures creep above freezing at about 4 a.m. and rise to 47 degrees.
Residents should be alert to potential flooding as the snow and ice begin to melt.
Downed trees and sheets of ice have closed several roads around the city. As of 3 p.m., East Lake Sammamish Parkway was closed at 212th Avenue – also known as Snake Hill Road – due to a fallen tree. Snake Hill Road itself is also closed.
Sammamish Public Works Director Laura Philpot said most of the city’s main thoroughfares – including 228th Avenue and Issaquah-Pine Lake Road – are in relatively good shape, having received lots of sand and deicer throughout the week. The city has all six of their snow plows out around the clock, with crews working 12-hour shifts. Crews have been able to move on to some of the lower-priority arterials like Inglewood Hill Road and Southeast Eighth Street today.
Drivers are likely on their own inside neighborhoods, though.
“We just don’t have the bodies or trucks to move beyond the major roads,” Philpot said.
Issaquah and Lake Washington school districts as well as Eastside Catholic are closed today – the second day in a row the weather has forced a closure. School closures are also in effect Jan. 20.
Odell said PSE crews believe one of the main power transmission lines east of town has been damaged, cutting power to a large swath of the city. PSE is assessing the damage and is unsure when power will be restored.
“If there is damage to the larger power system it is probably going to be a while (before power is restored),” Odell said.
Several of Sammamish’s gas stations, which require electricity to pump gas, are closed. City staff report that the gas stations in Redmond are functional.
Safeway, QFC and Ace Hardware are all open but have lost power and are running on generators.
Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District is having problems due to the power outages and is asking customers to conserve water by not showering or flushing toilets unnecessarily. Customers with grinder pumps are reminded that their pumps do not work during power outages and that they should refrain from using their toilets or showers.
SeaTac airport’s runways are open, but the situation is difficult. Air travelers should check flight status before venturing out.
King County Metro has delayed or cancelled many bus routes. Riders should check their bus status before leaving.
City officials are updating the city website with snow and ice information.
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Electricity is down in Sammamish.
An unrelated suggestion – it would be useful if there was a mobile version of this site.
Sammamish city workers have done an outstanding job keeping major roads passable with Sand & deicer.. Nice work and very professional.