Wide-spread power outage hits more than 50,000 across Pierce County. Here’s what we know - Tacoma News Tribune
50,000 people without power in Pierce County after outage | Tacoma News Tribune
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Wide-spread power outage hits more than 50,000 across Pierce County. Here’s what we know
Widespread power outages were affecting thousands of people across Pierce County on Wednesday morning.
Tacoma Public Utility’s outage map showed almost 24,000 people without power. Areas without power include Tacoma, Ruston, University Place and part of Fircrest.
People lost power right before 11 a.m., according to the reported outages.
“Our crews are investigating the cause and working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” Tacoma Public Utility posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The utility did not give an estimated time for when power could be restored.
Residents west of the Narrows Bridge also were without power.
The Peninsula Light Co. outage map showed over 34,000 people were without power across its network.
Reported outages show they lost power around 11 a.m. too.
Shortly after, Peninsula Light Co. tweeted, “PenLight is experiencing a system wide transmission outage.”
Areas affected include those Gig Harbor, Fox Island, Purdy, Vaughn, Home, Lakebay, and Longbranch.
Pen Light has not provided an estimated time for power to be restored.
According to an alert email sent out by Pierce County around noon, they said the estimated time of restoration is 2 p.m.
Peninsula School District will not be sending kids home, Kris Hagel, a spokesperson for PSD told The News Tribune.
When Hagel spoke with The News Tribune just after noon, he said three schools have power back.
He also said after a conversation between Pen Light and PSD, they expect to have power fully restored within the next hour.
Tacoma Public Utilities and Pen Light have not responded to the News Tribune for a comment about the cause of the outage or when certain areas should get power back.
Check back for updates. This is a developing story.
This story was originally published November 15, 2023, 11:46 AM.
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