In brief: Winds strand workers on bridge

It was a cold night for a group of workers on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge when high winds left them stranded on a span about 200 feet below the bridge deck early Sunday.

Four men were stranded on a deck section for 3 1/2 hours early Sunday after winds picked up.

A state Department of Transportation spokeswoman said the men lowered themselves onto a deck section in a basket from a suspension cable walkway. Gusts picked up as the men worked, and they decided to wait out the winds.

The men eventually attached an additional winch line to their basket for stabilization and returned to the walkway about 5 a.m. No one was injured.

Tacoma Narrows Constructors, the bridge’s contractor, is trying to open the bridge by July 2.

Wenatchee

Power outages could last days

Fierce winds with gusts up to 43 mph in Wenatchee and 60 mph on the Waterville Plateau toppled trees, damaged homes and knocked out power to thousands in Chelan and Douglas counties early Sunday.

As many as 10,000 homes and businesses were without power around the region, power company spokespeople said.

Power could be out for days in some areas, said Steve Lachowicz of the Chelan County Public Utility District.

He said major power lines were down all around the Wenatchee area and 10 substations, which route electricity around the area, were without power.

Kent, Wash.

Man dead after being hit by train

A 49-year-old man was killed Sunday after he stepped in front of a southbound Amtrak train, Kent police said.

Train service was halted for three hours.

Police said the man lived in a nearby shelter and stepped in front of the train about 10:15 a.m. near West Titus Street. Investigators determined that warning equipment, including crossing signals, appeared to be working properly.

The King County medical examiner has not released the man’s identity.

Tacoma

Truck spills diesel into river

State Ecology crews responded to an oil spill Sunday near the Puyallup River Bridge overpass in Tacoma.

The spill was reported about 6 a.m. after a tanker truck crashed in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 on the overpass.

The truck spilled 150 gallons of diesel fuel from its tanks, Ecology said in a news release Sunday afternoon. The Department of Transportation was able to recover about 35 gallons of fuel from the roadway, but the rest spilled into the river.

The river was moving quickly due to rainfall overnight, and officials said most of the diesel would likely wash into Commencement Bay, which could cause an oily sheen.

Responders planned to monitor the river for any slow-moving areas that could be treated with absorbent materials to soak up pooling diesel.