Community Corner
Update: White River Schools Two Hours Late Monday
Meanwhile there is an ongoing wind advisory and at last check, 1,787 Enumclaw Puget Sound Energy customers were without power.
Update: 6:20 p.m. - The White River School District will start two hours late on Monday. There will be limited bus transportation and no half-day kindergarten. Mt. Meadows Elementary is closed, as is WRAP.
This evening, 1,787 Enumclaw PSE customers were without power, 757 customers in Black Diamond, 1,655 in Buckley and 5,398 in Auburn.
Update: 1:10 p.m. - Puget Sound Energy's service alert page indicates that there are actually more customers without power in Enumclaw Sunday compared with Saturday, with the number now at 2,697.
Find out what's happening in Enumclawwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
There is currently a wind advisory in effect for areas including Enumclaw that expires at 10 p.m. tonight. Winds betweeen 20 and 30 mph are likely with gusts up go 50 mph. (See weather page)
Black Diamond's customers now number 993, Buckley stands at 2,262 and Auburn is down to 8,532.
Find out what's happening in Enumclawwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
More Updates from King County for Sunday:
CenturyLink crews are working to restore service to customers impacted by the storms. Four ways customers may report issues and request assistance: Call the Century Link Repair Hotline at 1-800 573-1311, enter a ticket at www.CenturyLink.com, send an email to talk2us@centurylink.com or send a message via twitter @CenturyLink.
There have been telephone and cellular network outages throughout King County. Residents who need emergency assistance and cannot get through to 9-1-1 on their home phone should use their cell phone to call 9-1-1. If cell phone service is not available in your area, try your call from another area, go to the nearest fire station, or use a phone in a public place. The 9-1-1 centers cannot receive text messages.
Shelter and warming facilities open throughout King County
Several municipalities will continue to operate warming centers and homeless shelters. For more information, visit www.kingcounty.gov/prepare.
Disposing of storm debris
Residents and businesses are encouraged to recycle construction, demolition and land clearing debris. To see a complete list of recycling options and links to resources, visit http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/wdidw/material.asp.
Small amounts of construction, demolition and land clearing debris are accepted at King County solid waste transfer stations. Locations and hours for transfer stations: http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/facilities/transfer.asp. The following restrictions apply:
- No hazardous or dangerous waste.
- No items greater than eight feet long.
- Dense items that are bigger than 2 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds are not accepted. Examples include big pieces of concrete, large stumps, wood stoves and cast iron bathtubs.
- The maximum combined vehicle and trailer length limits are: 30 feet at Algona, Cedar Falls, Factoria, Houghton, Renton and Vashon and 40 feet at Bow Lake, Enumclaw and Shoreline.
Roads
King County Road Services Division continues to make significant headway with its round-the-clock response to downed trees and slushy conditions on County roadways. Residents can check road conditions and closures at www.kingcounty.gov/mycommute. Motorists should be on the lookout for falling debris and use extreme caution when traveling, especially on roads in heavily wooded areas of the county.
Prevent carbon monoxide poisoning
There have been reported incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning in south King County neighborhoods without power.
Prevent poisoning from carbon monoxide:
- Only use a generator outdoors and far from open windows and vents
- Never use a generator or portable propane heater indoors, in garages or carports
- Never cook or heat inside on a charcoal or gas grill.
Keep food safe if your power is out
If your power has been out for more than several hours, many foods in your refrigerator are no longer safe to eat. Throw away foods that spoil easily (such as meat and fish) if they warm up above 41º F. Use this chart as a guide for which foods are safe and which should be discarded: http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html.
Frozen foods that remain frozen are OK to eat. If potentially hazardous foods (such as meat, fish and dairy) are thawed but are still cold or have ice crystals on them, use them as soon as possible. If potentially hazardous foods are thawed and are warmer than 41º F, throw them away.
----
There were 2,615 Puget Sound Energy customers in Enumclaw there were still without power as of 1 p.m. Saturday, according to the company's status alert website.
In nearby areas, there were 2,294 Black Diamond customers without power, 3,284 customers without power in Buckley, and 12,816 customers without power in Auburn.
Patch has not been able to reach an Enumclaw city official for an update on city power status but according to reports on our Facebook page, power was still out on Wilson Avenue near Porter and Kibler at about noon today.
Nonetheless, it appeared the overnight need for a warming shelter was minimal so the center set up at Mutual of Enumclaw as been closed, according to an email update from city administrator Mike Thomas this morning.
Thomas also indicated that the city would end its State of Emergency Declaration at 5 p.m. today and normal operations are assumed thereafter.
As for city events, the Enumclaw Area Chamber of Commerce has now rescheduled its Installation Dinner for Thursday, Jan 26. According to an email update from the Chamber, the time frames have been slightly adjusted because the installation ceremony will take place at the beginning of the State of Education Address.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.