Posts published in “Traffic News”

2:30pm: While the Ferndale core area saw power restored about noon today, several PSE customers in outlying areas remain without. No estimates have been provided by PSE for when power can be expected to be restored.

11:45am: City public works staff report the traffic lights on Main Street east of the Nooksack River are again functioning. That was due to power to the core Ferndale area being restored.

11:20am: Wind gusts have continued to decrease in their speed over the past hour, dropping from the high 60s to below 50mph as recorded at a Ferndale weather station.

10am: Stores and businesses on Main Street and LaBounty Drive east of the river are looking at not getting their power restored until 6pm or later. This includes banks, grocery stores, retail, gas stations and restaurants. Notable exceptions are Les Schwab Tires, they are open and able to install tires and fix flats, and Whatcom Educational Credit Union which is operating on their backup power system.

9:35am: This may or may not be related to the winds but several fire units are responding to a report of a gas leak at a commercial greenhouse in the 700 block of W Smith Road.

9:15am: Puget Sound Energy is now estimating it may take until 6pm to restore the outage impacting neighbors in the east Ferndale area as shown on the map below.

9:05am: This boat in the water at Sandy Point is just one of the casualties of today’s windstorm.

9am: The Whatcom Chief (ferry to Lummi Island) remains out of service with no estimation for restoring service.

8:25am: The school district just released the following information regarding Windward High School,

There is currently no power at Windward High School.

Windward Students who drove themselves or walked to school have been released to go home.

Windward Students who were brought to school by parents or by bus have been transported to the Ferndale High School Auditorium. At 10:00 A.M those students will be transported home by bus.

If parents want to pick up their student before 10:00 a.m., they can do so at the Ferndale High School Auditorium located at 5830 Golden Eagle Drive.

8:20am: Neighbors are asking when power will be restored. Unfortunately PSE is dealing with several outages, not just in Whatcom County but throughout the Puget Sound region due to the windstorm. For some perspective, below is a map provided by Puget Sound Energy that details the number and locations of outages just in Whatcom County.

8:15am: The National Weather Service has extended the High Wind Warning (expect wind gusts to 65mph) to noon today. A High Wind Advisory (expect wind gusts to 45mph) will remain in effect until 4pm this afternoon.

8am: Gust are not appearing to be diminishing yet. The strongest gust yet was recorded in Ferndale at 96mph about 7:40am.

Several roads near the southern end of Sandy Point are reported to be flooded out due to the tidal surge brought on by high tides, low air pressure and winds.

PSE is not able to provide estimates for when power will be restored due to the large number of outages they are responding to currently.

No word yet from the school district about Windward High School opening without power.

7:30am: Wind gusts in Ferndale continue to exceed 60mph. Received a tip from a neighbor that power was just lost in the Grandview Road and Dahlberg Road neighborhood. More road impacts are being reported. Check your route on the current road closures and warnings map.

7:15am: Ferndale Schools are operating on their normal schedules. Buses may be running late on some routes due to blocked roads and debris in the roads. According to the district announcement:

All schools are operating on schedule today.

However, due to weather and road conditions, there may be a delay in bus service. There are obstructions on some roadways and spotted flooding. In addition there will be no bus service to Sandy Point due to flooding conditions in that area.

Note, there is no ferry service to or from Lummi Island.

6:30am: Due to high winds, the Lummi Island ferry’s service has been suspended until further notice.

Updated power outage map.

6:25am: Traffic signals are out along Main Street from the river to east of I-5.

6am: Power to the Marietta neighborhood appears to have been restored according to information from PSE.

The Discover Ferndale current road closures and warnings map has been updated.

5:55am: Updating the list of locations around Ferndale where power lines, poles or trees have been reported to be impacting traffic include:

• W Smith Road at Barrett/Pacific Highway
• Vista Drive south of Grandview Road
  Law enforcement set out warning flares warning of downed or low power lines but drivers are reportedly driving through anyway.
• Olson Road, north of Thornton
• Slater Road at Elder Road
• Olsen Road and Unick Road
• Lake Terrell Road just south of Slater Road

 

5:45am: Fire is responding to a report of a ruptured propane tank (just leaking, no fire) on Aldergrove Road between Malloy Road and Vista Drive.

The Marietta neighborhood has been hit again tonight with a power outage. They had seen power restored from an earlier outage. PSE reports nearly 200 600 customers impacted in the area. PSE is estimating restoring power by 7am.

5:40am: Locations around Ferndale where power lines, poles or trees have been reported to be impacting traffic include:

• W Smith Road at Barrett/Pacific Highway
• Vista Drive south of Grandview Road
  Law enforcement set out warning flares warning of downed or low power lines but drivers are reportedly driving through anyway.
• Olson Road, north of Thornton
• Slater Road at Elder Road
• Olsen Road and Unick Road

 

5:15am: An 85mph gust was just recorded in Ferndale.

5am: Lights are flickering as this is being written as high winds and gusts pummeled Ferndale and the surrounding north Puget Sound region as they have since 11pm.