Seattle’s Chinatown goes dark in scheduled blackout

Hundreds of businesses and residents in Seattle’s International District were without power as public utility workers upgraded their service.

Several city blocks in the heart of the neighborhood, which is also known as Chinatown, went dark at roughly 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Power was expected to be restored by 7 p.m. on Wednesday. But by 11 a.m. Seattle City Light was turning the power back on, saying they hadn’t experienced any of the complications typical of this kind of install.

“City Light appreciates the cooperation of Chinatown-International District residents and business owners who helped the utility schedule this important work to minimize the impact on the community,” Customer Service and Energy Delivery Officer Phil West said. “We are glad to complete this work early so they can avoid further inconveniences.”

During the scheduled outage, crews were installing an alternate power supply, called a feeder.

Seattle City Light said the blackout impacted roughly 135 businesses and 200 residential customers in portions of the area south of S. Jackson St., north of S. Dearborn St., east of 5th Ave. S., and west of Maynard Ave S.

The Seattle Police Department increased patrols in the neighborhood to protect residents and businesses. A mobile precinct was set up to increase visibility and prevent crime during the outage.

Detective Jeff Kappel with the Seattle Police Department said Tuesday that police were “going to be everywhere.”

“We want to assure people that we’re there,” said Kappel.

Many businesses in the impacted area planned on being closed Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a bakery in the neighborhood worked to clean out refrigerators and freezers prior to the blackout. Cakes in their display cases would either have to be sold or thrown out, a worker said.

The owner of a nearby jewelry shop said the power outage would cost him a day of business and as much as $3,000 in sales. His surveillance cameras are inoperable without power, he said, and jewelry had to be removed from display cases and placed in a secure safe late Wednesday.

The International District/Chinatown Community Center opened early Wednesday and planned to close late to accommodate those without power. The center, at 8th Ave. S and S. Dearborn St., planned to remain open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“There’s a large population of senior citizens in the area so I anticipate that we’ll have large groups of senior citizens, and then I’m sure that we’ll also have some families that come by as well,” said Sebastian Wilson, Community Center coordinator.

The center offered to provide free television access, Internet, showers, bathroom facilities and recreational space for those who needed it.