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Northwest storm leaves 1.5M in the dark
2006-12-16
Residents of the Pacific Northwest struggled to stay warm Saturday after the worst windstorm in more than a decade knocked out power to more than 1.5 million homes and businesses and killed at least six people. About 950,000 customers in Washington and Oregon remained without power Friday night. Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency, and with temperatures expected to drop over the weekend, officials warned people not to use outdoor grills, propane heaters or other carbon monoxide-producing equipment indoors. Firefighters in Kent found 33 people from four families suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning Friday night, fire Capt. Kyle Ohashi said. They had taken their barbecues inside to cook or heat their apartments as temperatures dipped into the 30s. They were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, and all were expected to survive, Ohashi said. In Oregon, a family of six was sickened by carbon monoxide from a generator set up in a garage in Gresham after the storm knocked out power, police said. Three children were hospitalized in critical condition late Friday, while one child and both parents were listed in good condition. Winds gusted to a record 69 mph early Friday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking the old mark of 65 mph set in 1993. Winds were clocked at 113 mph near Mount Rainier. Power was knocked out at one of the airport's concourses, canceling dozens of flights. Flights were also canceled at Portland International Airport in Oregon, and Amtrak canceled service between Seattle and Portland after downed trees and mudslides blocked the tracks. Two people were killed in Washington in traffic accidents involving windblown trees, while one died after getting trapped in her basement by rising floodwaters. A fourth person was killed while he slept when the top of a tree snapped off and crashed into his home. On the Oregon coast, an elderly couple died in a house fire caused by candles they were using during a power outage. Puget Sound Energy, Washington's largest private utility, had 625,000 customers without power on Friday night. Some won't have their lights back on for days, spokeswoman Martha Monfried said. Seattle City Light reported 107,000 outages Friday evening, while Snohomish County Public Utility District said 20,000 of its customers were still in the dark. In Oregon, Portland General Electric said it had about 130,000 customers without power Friday evening, while Pacific Power said it was down to 64,000. Some of those customers are in Washington state. The storm was the most intense to hit the region since the Inauguration Day storm of Jan. 20, 1993, which killed five people and caused about $130 million in damage, said Clifford F. Mass, a University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor.
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