White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Just in from Seattle City Light – a news release saying what they’re doing, and what you should be doing, to be prepared – read on:

PATH OF APPROACHING STORM UNCERTAIN
SEATTLE CITY LIGHT RECOMMENDS CUSTOMERS BE READY
City Light has crews ready if storm takes a more northerly track

SEATTLE – Seattle City Light crews are ready to respond if the storm
predicted to hit late Thursday – New Years Day – hits the Seattle area.
Storms are expected to bring rain and strong winds to the Puget Sound
area through the weekend. However, there’s a chance that the storm
will hit to the south of the Seattle area.

“Our crews are ready to respond if the weather system ends up hitting
our area,” says Chris Heimgartner, Energy Delivery and Customer Care
Officer for City Light. “We are prepared for the possibility of
outages occurring throughout our service territory and we can have
back-up help available to us quickly if there is significant wind
damage. Our main concern is the saturated ground from the snow and
rain. Similar to 2006, this can bring down whole trees onto power
lines.” City Light has written agreements with other utilities in the
region and throughout the West to send back-up crews should the outages
and damage be widespread. Likewise, City Light would send crews to other
storm-damaged areas, if necessary.

The Customer Service Call Center will remain open this evening,
December 31st, until 8:00 p.m. The Call Center also will be open
tomorrow, New Years Day from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. If it appears that
the storm will hit Seattle, the Call Center hours may be extended.

If a large-scale storm event occurs, residents should be ready with
emergency supplies for at least three days. Items to include are a
hand-crank or battery-operated flashlight and radio, fresh batteries, a
survival blanket, a first aid kit, pocket tissues and hand sanitizer
wipes.

City Light reminds customers to be safe. Downed lines can be
dangerous. Also, City Light urges customers to be prepared for any
possible outages. Here’s what customers can do if they experience a
power outage::

Ø Do not get near any downed wire. An individual should always
assume a downed wire is “live” and dangerous. If someone seeks a
downed wire, they should call (206) 706-0051;
Ø Do not use a barbecue grill or generator inside the house or in
a garage that is attached to the house. Do not use a grill or generator
near a home air intake vent or near windows;
Ø Do not use fossil fuel burning auxiliary heating sources;
Ø Have an emergency power outage kit available and well-stocked.
There should be sufficient supplies to last three days for every family
member and family pets. Make sure all batteries are fresh. To find out
what to put into a kit, go to www.takewinterbystorm.org
Ø Know how to manually override electric garage doors, security
doors and gates;
Ø Have a land line phone or fully charged cell phone available –
cordless phones won’t work when the power is out;
Ø Unplug electrical appliances if the power goes out so that when
the power comes back on, there won’t be a surge that could damage
sensitive electronic equipment;
Ø Use battery-powered flashlights – not candles or oil lamps;
Ø Close doors, windows, curtains, and unused fireplace dampers to
retain heat if there is an outage.

Tags: outages, Seattle City Light, Weather

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