A powerful storm has left thousands of Thurston County residents without power and caused multiple school closures. The region experienced over 200 power outages as of 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday, with more than 630 total outages and 135,500 customers affected across Puget Sound Energy's (PSE) service area in Western Washington. The outages occurred amid heavy rain and strong winds, the third such weather event in just over a week, according to a PSE alert. Damages appeared spread throughout the Puget Sound, however PSE says Thurston, Pierce, Island, and Skagit counties were the most impacted. Find Energy, a private website that collects data from electric utilities, estimates about 29,000 Thurston County customers were without power as of 9 a.m. The power outages prompted many local schools to close. All North Thurston Public Schools, Olympia School District, Tumwater School District, and Yelm Community Schools were affected, with some starting late and others closing entirely. Several Thurston County government facilities also had no power on Wednesday morning, including The Atrium at 3000 Pacific Ave. SE in Olympia and the courthouse complex at 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW in Olympia. A flood watch and high wind warning remain in effect, with the NWS warning of the threat of landslides and debris flows due to saturated soils. PSE says additional crews from outside the region are supporting local crews as they work "around the clock" to restore power as safely as possible. "Above all, safety comes first - please take extra precautions and stay safe out there," the alert said. This is a developing story, and we will provide updates as more information becomes available.
