Man killed; thousands without power after windstorm hammers region
Mar 11, 2016, 6:24 PM | Updated: Mar 13, 2016, 10:06 pm
A man was killed when a tree fell on his car at Seattle's Seward Park on Sunday afternoon. (Seattle Fire Department via Twitter)
(Seattle Fire Department via Twitter)
One person was killed in a Seattle park on Sunday during a strong windstorm that hammered the Puget Sound region.
The man was killed when a tree fell on a car in the Upper Loop at Seward Park around 2 p.m., according to the Seattle Fire Department. It was originally reported a woman was killed. Fire spokeswoman Corey Orvold says a toddler was also in the car at the time and was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with minor injuries. She says she believes a passer-by helped the girl out of the backseat. Reports say she was released from the hospital late Sunday.
At least 129,000 Puget Sound Energy customers are without power, down from 175,000. Another 34,000 Seattle City Light customers are affected. That’s down from 55,000. Snohomish County PUD reports 40,000 without power.
• Seattle City Light outage map
• Puget Sound Energy outage map
• Snohomish County PUD outages
The Washington State Department of Transportation closed the 520 Bridge in both directions due to strong wind gusts. Eastbound traffic is being diverted at Mountlake; westbound traffic at 92nd Ave. WSDOT says the bridge will reopen on Monday morning after crews fix damage to a mechanical system.
The Hood Canal Bridge was closed for about four hours due to high winds.
Downed trees across the region have stopped traffic and taken out power lines. Lynnwood Police reported debris falling off of a church in the 19400 block of 36th.
The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning on Sunday from noon to 11 p.m. Boeing Field reported a gust of 52 mph and West Point, Discory Park reported a gust of 66 mph. A 75 mph gust was reported at Cape Disappointment.
Northline Sounder service between Everett and Seattle is canceled on Monday due to a slide just south of Mukilteo.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
