Rising rivers flood roads; more power outages expected in next round of storms



ENUMCLAW -- High winds are expected with the next round of storms.

Medielaine Depouli says that means trees will probably be coming down in Enumclaw. She’s used to that.

“The power goes out quite frequently and sometimes it goes out for days, and there’s no heat. So we bought a generator a few years ago.”

She decided to get gas for that generator tonight, to be prepared.

“Last time when we were without power, the winds were really blowing high and the wind chill was down below zero here,” says her husband Ray. “In a matter of a minute or two, you can barely move your hands. I remember that from the last time, so I figured I’d get it on a little warmer night.”

PHOTO GALLERY:  Another round of warm, stormy weather slams the Pacific Northwest

Puget Sound Energy is asking all their customers to get ready. They say their crews will be working around the clock to make repairs and restore power if it goes out tomorrow. But they’re advising everyone to make sure they have food, flashlights and emergency supplies. That includes a radio that runs on batteries. They also say phones and other mobile devices should be charged now if the power does go out.



The Pierce County Emergency Management is expecting to open their operations center tomorrow.

“We`re not too concerned about flooding at this point,” says Sheri Badger. “But we are concerned about the wind and the damages that could incur from that.”

RELATED:  Governor Inslee declares State of Emergency in wake of storm

There were already some branches that came down, causing road closures in Puyallup and Lake Tapps today. Daniel Hay had a tree come down on his home in Lake Tapps last month. He’s now thinking about cutting down some of the other trees on his property, so there’s no more damage.

“We'd rather lose the trees then see somebody get hurt.”