Kirkland residents Taylor Moore (left), 25, Eleonora Pavlenko 20 and Bernard Miranda, 25, build an 8-foot-5 snow bear during the power blackout Christmas Day. - Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
Kirkland residents Taylor Moore (left), 25, Eleonora Pavlenko 20 and Bernard Miranda, 25, build an 8-foot-5 snow bear during the power blackout Christmas Day.

Snow-laden lines cause thousands of area power outage


December 26, 2008 · Updated 5:07 PM 

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Some residents suffered power cuts on Christmas Day as a result of the rain weighing down the snow-laden power lines and tree branches, causing them to break.

At its peak, approximately 18,000 residential customers lost power for several hours in areas between Woodinville, Duval, Bothell, Redmond and unincorporated King County with a Kirkland address. Puget Sound Energy spokesperson MacKenzie McDowell said the outages have been scattered and confined to mostly rural areas. Utility service was quickly restored to most homes the following day.

"They're finishing up repairs for most of our customers and heading out to the rural areas, checking each home," McDowell said.

Seattle City Light does not provide power to any residential customers in Kirkland, officials said.

The National Weather Service also issued a Dec. 29 flood watch for Western Washington, including King County, saying that the combination of warming temperatures, rainfall and last week's snowfall could cause urban and small-stream flooding.

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