CBS –
The first of two atmospheric river storms expected this week rolled into the Bay Area with the heaviest impact felt in the North Bay.
The storm has led to downed trees, road closures, dangerous driving conditions, and a number of power outages across the region.
A separate power outage in Santa Clara is impacting dozens, possibly hundreds of customers, according to Silicon Valley power. The outage, which is occurring in the area of Homestead Road and Pomeroy Avenue, is impacting between 50 and 249 customers.
An outage centered around Corte Madera is impacting 4,621 customers, according to PG&E. The outage, which is believed to be weather related, is impacting the following areas:
- Horse Hill
- Larkspur Marina
- Madera Gardens
“Our meteorologists have been working round the clock, keeping an eye on all the weather that’s coming our way,” said PGE spokesperson John Farmer.
“We have daily operations meetings where they let everyone know what’s going on.
And that enables the planning to happen to be able to prepare and respond to whatever Mother Nature throws at us.”
“We’re monitoring rainfall and the evolving forecasts. We’re ready to respond to closed storm drains as needed.
Rain so far has been a half inch, which is well within what we can handle in 24 hours. The public should clear storm drains and monitor them during and after the rains this week,” added Dylan Rivera with the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
Neighbors in Southeast Portland affected by the power outage told KOIN 6 News they were shocked to find a power pole catch fire earlier in the day.
In Seattle, a tree fell onto a vehicle, temporarily trapping someone inside, the Seattle Fire Department reported. The agency later said the person was in stable condition.
“Trees are coming down all over the city & falling onto homes,” Bellevue Fire said in another social media post. “If you can, go to the lowest floor and stay away from windows. Do not go outside if you can avoid it.”
More than 100,000 electricity customers in Washington state were reported to be without power Wednesday afternoon on PowerOutage.us. That figure had dropped significantly from reports earlier in the morning, which reported upwards of 600,000 outages statewide.
California was also experiencing around 30,000 power outages, according to the tracking site.
The number of outage reports had fluctuated wildly Tuesday evening, likely due in part to several weather and utility agencies struggling to report information on the storm because of internet outages and other technical problems.
It wasn’t clear if that figure was accurate. More than 4,000 had lost power in Oregon and nearly 15,000 in California. that Puget Sound Energy said in a statement early Wednesday morning they have nearly a half million customers without power and expect a “multiple day outage.”
CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV reports that Puget Sound Energy said in a statement early Wednesday morning that its nearly half million customers without power should expect a “multiple day outage.”
