SEATTLE (AP) – Cleanup began Wednesday in Washington state after a powerful storm killed three people, cut power to more than 380,000 residents and flooded rivers.
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The woman’s death is at least the third attributed to severe weather Tuesday in the Northwest.
Police said a woman in her 50s was killed when a tree toppled taking down power lines as it fell in Spokane on Tuesday afternoon.
“Many roads are closed from downed trees, active power lines, flood waters”, Snohomish County Fire Chief Merlin Halverson said Wednesday. His identity was not yet available.
In Spokane, police said a woman was killed by a falling tree while another woman died on State Route 904 southwest of the city when a tree struck her vehicle, state police said on Twitter.
Crews in Spokane were working to clear at least 175 fallen trees Wednesday that blocked streets and slowed the morning commute.
The National Weather Service has forecasted rain and wind in the area for much of the rest of the week.
To the north, in Snohomish County, the public utility district reported nearly 24,000 customers lacked power in Everett, Darrington, Monroe, and other communities.
Utilities say the number of customers without power remained in the six digits early Wednesday. “We now have a total of 78 crews along with servicemen, tree crews, damage assessors and hundreds of support personnel in the field”.
“This is the largest crisis Avista has experienced in the company’s 126-year history”, Avista said in a news release.
“Storm damage is spread throughout the city and will take time to assess and clean up”, Mayor David Condon said.
She told officials that she had gone to bed earlier than usual Tuesday because her home lost power. It wasn’t long before the tree landed near her. Also shut down were Gonzaga, Whitworth, Washington State-Spokane and Eastern Washington universities. Gust of up to 116 miles per hour were reported at Ski Mission Ridge by KXLY out of Spokane.
Strong winds and an extended downpour caused fewer problems in OR, but roughly 7,000 Portland General Electric customers remain without power in the Portland area.
An airport in Olympia received record daily rainfall of 2.08 inches on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.
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The storm dumped over a foot of snow in a few parts of the Plains and winds created snow drifts several feet high.
