First Storm Of The Season Turns Deadly

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By By KOMO Staff & News Services

Summary

Man dies after stepping on power line blown down in storm; flood warnings are up, some roads are closed.

Story Published: Oct 16, 2003 at 10:17 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 29, 2009 at 12:34 PM PDT

First Storm Of The Season Turns Deadly
WESTERN WASHINGTON - Gale-force winds cut electricity to more than 50,000 homes and businesses in Western Washington and figured in the death of a man who stepped on a blown-down power line.

The storm Thursday night also brought heavy rains to northwest Washington, raising the danger of flooding on several rivers Friday.

U.S. 101, the principal highway on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula, was closed after a mudslide triggered by rain knocked a logging truck into Lake Crescent. Falling trees damaged houses and at least one car in the Puget Sound area Thursday.

This Web Site from the DOT has the current list of roads closed by flooding.

Flood warnings were issued for several rivers, with the biggest overflows anticipated along the Skagit about 60 miles north of Seattle, the Nooksack near the Canadian border and the Elwha near Port Angeles on the north end of the Olympic Peninsula.

In Whatcom County, the Nooksack River flooded roadways in the Acme Valley about 15 miles southeast of Bellingham. Crews closed roads and residents left voluntarily, and County Executive Pete Kremen declared a state of emergency Thursday night. The river was expected to crest Friday night at four feet above flood stage at Ferndale.

The flooding Skokomish River closed Highways 101 and 106 and some secondary roads in Mason County, southwest of Puget Sound. The Hood Canal School District closed schools Friday due to flooding.

Rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 a.m. Thursday topped 3 inches at a number of gauges on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula and 2 inches in Bremerton, across Puget Sound from Seattle.

The strong storm front passed that through the northwest part of the state Thursday brought wind gusts of 46 mph in Everett, 50 mph in Bellingham and 60 mph at Brinnon on the west side of Hood Canal, officials said.

More than 15,000 electricity customers remained in the dark early Friday, though utilities said service was being rapidly restored.

A man riding with a friend on state Highway 9 north of Lake Stevens and about 30 miles north of Seattle asked to stop Thursday evening so he could put out what looked like a small fire in some brush, Snohomish County sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said.

As the driver went to get a fire extinguisher, the 32-year-old passenger died after he stomped on a downed 7,200-volt line in the road, believing it was a burning flare, Jorgensen said. The accident was witnessed by several motorists, she added.

"He was being a Good Samaritan and trying to put out the fire, but it was a downed wire," Jorgensen said.

The line is maintained by the Snohomish County Public Utility District, which had about 11,000 customers without power at various times, utility spokesman Mike Thorne said.

"It's important for all people to know that if you see downed lines, just stay away from them because it could be dangerous," Thorne said. "This is a terrible tragedy, and it's always real dangerous when we have these kinds of winds and downed lines."

Puget Sound Energy had 30,000 customers without power at various times Thursday, mostly in Skagit and Whatcom counties, spokesman Tim Bader said.

Seattle City Light officials reported electricity out to 9,100 customers in the city before power was restored by 10 p.m. Thursday.

A mudslide on U.S. 101 west of Port Angeles knocked a logging truck into Lake Crescent, but the driver escaped through a window and was uninjured. The highway was likely to remain closed through midday Friday, transportation officials said.

A slide near Pysht closed Washington 112, cutting road access to Clallam Bay, Sekiu, Neah Bay and the Makah Indian Reservation at the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula.

In Federal Way, Robin Oleson was awakened by the sound of a 50-foot tree crashing into her house. She escaped injury, although some of the branches penetrated her bedroom ceiling. She was OK.

A tree also fell onto a car on Sand Point Way NE and NE 117th Street just south of the Lake City area. No one was injured there.

Falling trees also damaged some homes in the Bremerton area, hit a car in the north end of Seattle and narrowly missed two children playing outside in Marysville, officials reported.

The kids took shelter underneath a trampoline as the trees fell and were not injured.

A Coast Guard lifeboat was dispatched after a 75-foot fishing boat ran aground on Sinclair Island near Bellingham. No injuries were reported and the four-member crew was expected to refloat the vessel Friday, officials said.