Update 12pm: Power has been restored to all businesses in the Ferndale core area.
Original story:
They have been through this before and for more than a day but it still is an unhappy state for Ferndale businesses east of the Nooksack River who found their buildings dark this morning. Businesses west of the river are open and operating normally.
The larger retail stores, like Haggen and Grocery Outlet, and the smaller retailers and restaurants, banks and gas stations are all dealing with the fact it may be 6pm or later before they can open their doors to customers. This includes businesses on both sides of I-5 on Main Street as well as businesses on Barrett Road, LaBounty Drive and Pacific Highway
Click for more information
Click for more informationEven the Axton Northwest Market, which is often unaffected by neighborhood outages being they are on a different circuit, had their gas pumps taped off and the interior was dark.
There are a couple notable exceptions of businesses still open east of the Nooksack River (and if there are more please let us know and we will update here). Les Schwab Tires is open to fix and install tires and Whatcom Educational Credit Union is fully operational while running on their emergency backup power system.
To blame is a fierce windstorm that blew through overnight and into the morning hours. A tree fell into power lines causing a power pole to break near the intersection of Barrett Road/Pacific Hwy and W Smith Road (see picture).