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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Four people die, million lose power

Gene Johnson Associated Press

SEATTLE – More than a million people lost power after the worst windstorm in more than a decade tore through Western Washington, killing four people.

A Seattle voice-over actress died after being trapped in the flooded basement of her home; falling trees killed three others.

It was the worst windstorm to hit the state since the Inauguration Day storm Jan. 20, 1993, which killed five people, destroyed at least 79 homes, and caused about $130 million in damage, said Clifford F. Mass, a University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor.

Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency Friday.

Winds gusted to a record 69 mph about 1 a.m. Friday at SeaTac, breaking the old mark of 65 mph set in 1993. Winds were clocked at 113 mph near Mount Rainier.

Power was knocked out about 1:30 a.m. Friday to the south end of the airport terminal, as well as to a nearby Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control office. More than 100 flights were canceled or delayed.

All traffic was shut down for about an hour late Friday afternoon when the FAA moved its operations, said airport spokeswoman Rachel Garson. Flights were back to delays of less than 10 minutes by 7 p.m., FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said.

In Seattle, firefighters cut a hole in the floor Thursday in an attempt to rescue Kathryn Fleming, 41, from her flooded basement after her friends called for help. The water had apparently rushed down from a hillside above the home, and Fleming went to the basement to try to save her recording equipment, her friends told reporters.

“Somehow, the door shut, and she couldn’t open the door because of the water pressure,” Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick said.

In Grays Harbor County, a 28-year-old man was killed when a tree crashed into his home in the Brookside Trailer Court in McCleary, 18 miles west of Olympia. The 40-foot section of tree crushed the man, who has not been identified, while he slept, Chief Ron Pittman of the McCleary Fire Department told the Daily World of Aberdeen.

In Pierce County, Harold J. Fox, 47, of Eatonville, was killed Thursday when a tree fell on his vehicle on State Route 7 near Roy, the State Patrol said.

Bonney Bacus, 37, of Roy, died and her husband was critically injured when a tree fell on their pickup southeast of McKenna in eastern Pierce County.

And on the Oregon coast, an elderly couple died in a house fire caused by candles they were using during a power outage.

Puget Sound Energy, the state’s largest private utility, had restored power to 100,000 customers by Friday evening – but 600,000 were still without. The utility had lost more than half of its transmission system, and crews struggled in the mountains to reach downed lines that carry the electricity from Columbia River dams. A helicopter turned back because of whiteout conditions, and workers eventually rode in on snow machines, said Dennis Smedsrud.

Crews also faced heavy traffic and closed roads trying to fix outages.

“We’ve had a couple crews run out of fuel. With others, it’s taking them three hours to reach a location that should only take half an hour,” Smedsrud said. “If you don’t have to be on the road, don’t.”

Some people could be without power for days, utilities warned. As of Friday evening, 107,000 people remained without power in Seattle, down from a peak of 175,000, and 40,000 were still without power in the Snohomish County Public Utility District north of Seattle, down from 120,000 earlier.

About 70,000 to 80,000 lost power at times in Tacoma, along with 22,000 customers of the Grays Harbor PUD on the coast.

The hardest-hit area was King County, which includes Seattle, where drenching rain accompanied the first wallop as the storm hit Thursday afternoon, slowing commuters to a crawl. Winds were clocked in the 80s along the Strait of Juan de Fuca leading inland toward Seattle.

At the Green Firs Shopping Center in University Place, just south of Tacoma, people lined up out the door of Starbucks near a 40-foot fir tree that had blown over in the storm.

Terry Hayes said he first realized his power was out shortly after midnight Thursday when the machine he uses to treat his sleep apnea quit working and he couldn’t breathe.

The high wind peeled all of the shingles off the roof overhang covering his deck.

“I don’t know where it is,” Hayes said.

“All I know is the wind took off the whole covering.”