Gusty weather damages trees, power lines and interrupts traffic across King County
KING COUNTY, Wash. - Several communities across King County felt strong winds from Monday night and Tuesday’s gusty weather. Multiple neighborhoods in all parts of the county saw crews clearing down trees and fixing damaged power lines.
Crews with Seattle City Light spent several hours removing a tree, repairing a power pole and restoring electricity near the View Ridge neighborhood, just north of the University of Washington. People who live near the down tree said they heard a "big bang" early Tuesday morning.
"What sounded like a bomb going off," said Kate Storms, who temporarily lost power due to the down tree. "There’s a lot of tall sturdy, sturdy trees. So, I was very shocked that this one went down."
Diane Fadden, transit operator for King County Metro Transit, said she got the startle of her life when she was driving a bus late Monday night in Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood.
"I thought I saw something chunky in the darkness. And then all of a sudden oh my god! It’s a tree! So, I slammed on my breaks and I’m so amazed that the bus did not skid. It just stopped!" said Fadden.
She said three passengers were in her bus when she hit the brakes. No one was hurt, but Fadden said everyone was shocked by the sudden road block.
"The first thing I did was...I’m like is everyone ok? Because I was thinking whiplash. I mean, this bus was slammed to a stop. I’m looking around and there’s wires, there’s like electrical wires everywhere. And they’re saying don’t get out, don’t get out of the bus! Because there’s a wire behind you, there’s wires beside you, there’s wires in front of you. I’m like okay!" said Fadden.
Throughout the day, crews restored power and cleared the tree from the Lake City road. Fadden said she was within 10 feet of crashing into it during her overnight route.
"If it had not stopped, I would have plowed right through it," said Fadden. "I probably would have been killed if that happened because I understand the front of the bus is very fragile, mostly glass."
The gusty weather blew through all parts of King County, with winds reaching upwards of 35 miles per hour and gusts at 45 miles per hour.
Crews in Redmond cleaned up two trees that fell in the windy conditions. In Woodinville, a tree almost snapped power lines above a road. One large tree in Renton was removed after it fell down blocking traffic in both directions.
Back near Seattle’s View Ridge neighborhood, Seattle City Light estimated power would be restored to customers by 10:00 Tuesday evening.
"They’ve got a big job ahead of them," said Storms.
READ MORE: Wild weather in Western Washington: Tornado Warning canceled for Kitsap County
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