UPDATE: Leavenworth power restoration pushed to Saturday
CHELAN COUNTY — About 4,200 Chelan County PUD customers remain without power Friday after widespread power outages caused by severe winds and rainfall this week.
The Chelan County Public Utility District on Friday afternoon revised its estimate of when the remaining 4,268 customers might expect their electricity to be restored. Users of the PUD’s system outage portal were given an estimated restore time of 6 p.m. Saturday.
Affected households are within the city of Leavenworth, south along Icicle Road and East Leavenworth Road, and north along Chumstick Highway to Eagle Creek Road.
“Fallen trees, broken powerlines and flooding have created significant challenges for crews working to restore service,” the release says. “Safety remains our top priority as crews work to restore power as quickly and safely as conditions allow.”
The most extensive damage was near the Leavenworth Substation and fallen trees have damaged fiber lines, which will need electrical repairs before the Internet can be restored. Customers are encouraged to check with Internet providers for updates.
About 1 p.m., the PUD and Chelan County Public Works closed the intersection of Highway 2 and Chumstick Highway, where substation and power line work was focused. No reopening time was given. Westbound traffic through Leavenworth was directed to reroute via North Road from Peshastin.
In Stehekin, power outages may last several days. Chelan PUD says about a dozen power poles are down and storm conditions damaged the landing and surrounding roads. Crews will bring materials to repair lines and begin power restoration once access is restored.
The PUD says outages in Lake Wenatchee, Plain and Stevens Pass have been restored. A helicopter inspection found minimal damage along the transmission line between Sunitsch Canyon to Coles Corner and crews have repaired neighborhood distribution lines. Chelan PUD says it observed heavy flooding near powerlines and electrical service may be intermittent.
Peshastin, Cashmere, Blewett Pass, Chelan and the Manson area have all been restored. In Peshastin, water district customers may resume typical water use and customer service will reach out to customers where septic equipment is underwater.
Latest outage details can be found on the Chelan PUD Outage Portal, or through the outage phone line at 1-877-783-8123. Updates are also posted to the Chelan PUD’S Facebook page.