An unseasonably intense early autumn storm system swept across Western Washington on Friday, September 25, knocking out electrical service to more than 60,000 utility customers and leaving arterial transportation corridors littered with fallen timber and tangled distribution wires.
Deciduous trees throughout the South Sound had not yet shed their leaves, creating substantial wind resistance that exerted severe rotational force against root structures anchored in dry summer soil.
Even as wind speeds began to subside late Friday evening, the structural damage to regional distribution lines prevented rapid automated reclosing, forcing utility technicians to conduct manual physical inspections of every severed segment before re-energizing substations.
While distribution lines deliver electricity directly to homes and small businesses, higher-voltage transmission lines transport power across regional corridors from primary generation sources to distribution substations.
In Pierce County, Tacoma Public Utilities monitored tree-related interruptions in outlying service zones, dispatching service crews to repair severed residential connections.
An unseasonably early fall windstorm battered Western Washington with 45 mph gusts on Friday, cutting power to more than 60,000 customers, closing highway lanes, and devastating Puget Sound Energy circuits in Thurston County.