Strong winds downed trees and power lines, closed a couple of Kent streets and caused power outages across town on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
City crews closed South 240th Street from Russell Road at West Meeker Street to Lakeside Boulevard due to downed power lines, according to City Public Works staff. Crews also closed 132nd Avenue Southeast from Southeast 259th Place to Southeast 256th Street due to downed power lines blocking the roadway.
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) crews responded to the incidents.
“We’re experiencing power outages across our service area as a result of wind coupled with trees falling due to saturated soil from days of rain,” according to PSE. “We’ve opened our Emergency Coordination Center to coordinate restoration efforts.”
More than 300,000 PSE customers across Western Washington were without power at one point.
Other incidents in Kent included the closure of the eastbound curb lane on Southeast 208th Street from 105th Place Southeast to 108th Avenue Southeast due to downed construction fencing. A tree in the powerlines closed the southbound sidewalk at 124th Avenue SE and at Southeast 265th Court.
Traffic signals also were without power at intersections.
“We are aware of multiple power outages around the city that are affecting traffic signal lights,” according to the city of Kent. “If signals are down, treat it as an all-way stop.”
No remote school
The Kent School District closed its remote learning due to widespread power outages as many students didn’t have power to access the internet.
The Kent School Board meeting will be held Wednesday evening as scheduled.
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