Nearly 3,000 Lose Power In Chelan & Douglas Counties During Storm

Nearly 3,000 homes and businesses in Chelan and Douglas Counties were without power at different times during the winter storm that rolled through the region late Tuesday and early Wednesday morning.

"We had about a dozen outages across Chelan County," says Chelan PUD spokesperson, Rachel Hansen. "Most of the outages were small, but we had a couple that were bigger. There was a large outage overnight in the Peshastin-Dryden area that affected about five-hundred-and-fifty people. And the other big one we had was in Union Valley in the Chelan area where two-hundred-and-twenty-six customers were impacted."

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There were also outages reported in the vicinities of Leavenworth, South Wenatchee, and Plain, as well as Brender Canyon, and Blewett and Stevens Passes.

Hansen says all of the outages were caused by the storm's heavy, wet snow.

"There's a phenomenon called 'snow shedding' that happens when it (snow) lands on the lines and starts to pile up, and then falls off the power lines, and sometimes the power line can rebound and the shaking can cause a fault. We're also seeing a lot of fallen trees and fallen branches that have come down on our lines. So this heavy, wet snow we've gotten has been pretty hard on the electrical grid."

Across the Columbia River, Douglas PUD officials also reported several outages in East Wenatchee, including one that affected nearly 1,400 homes at around 7:15 a.m.

Most of the outages in both counties lasted no more than an hour to 90 minutes, and power was restored in all locations by 11 a.m.

With the presence of downed power lines in the area this morning, Hansen is reminding people to stay at least 40 feet away from any fallen lines they might encounter and to contact the PUD to report them right away.