Seattle City Light cuts power to thousands during cleanup of future homeless camp
Aug 13, 2015, 3:24 PM | Updated: 10:01 pm
Crews with Seattle City Light dug into an underground power line in Ballard Thursday afternoon, causing outages for nearly 2,000 customers. (MyNorthwest/Kipp Robertson)
(MyNorthwest/Kipp Robertson)
It looks like someone forgot to call before they dug.
Crews with Seattle City Light hit an underground power line in Ballard on Thursday afternoon, causing outages for nearly 2,000 customers.
Power went out for residents and businesses along Market Street, where the city is cleaning up a site in preparation for a homeless camp. Power was restored for most customers by 5 p.m.
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Oakley Carlson, the owner of Kiss Cafe, told KIRO Radio’s Josh Kerns that the outage will cost him. He’s going to have to throw away food that was no longer properly refrigerated.
“I’ll never be repaid for this,” he said.
The outage is salt in the wound for Ballard. The homeless camp at 2826 NW Market Street has become a point of contention between the city and the Ballard community recently. The community argues the site, which could hold as many as 100 people, is not the right spot for the camp.
“The same people creating a problem are making it worse as we speak,” Carlson said.
Though Ballard residents have tried to communicate with the city, Carlson said there’s been “zero” communication. Even the Ballard Chamber has attempted to work with the city in finding another site for the camp. But the city doesn’t want to play that game, he said.
“I’ve never been so frustrated in my life,” Carlson said.
Power outages aren’t the only headache the site has caused residents so far. The Ballard News Tribune reports that the city sent letters to neighbors before work began, warning them of potentially harmful dust.
The site is contaminated with dieldrin, a pesticide, the News Tribune reports. Heavy metals, including lead and asbestos were also found on the site. That’s the reason for the site’s cleanup, and also why the city asked residents to steer clear of the area.
The cleanup is expected to take about a week. Work includes digging out almost 20 inches of soil.
The Ballard camp is one of three new sites in the city.
