Damage climbs past $2 million as most power returns after Solstice Eve Windstorm
Most power has been restored to Whatcom County residents who suffered through the devastating Solstice Eve Windstorm of 2018, officials said Monday.
Fewer than 100 Puget Sound Energy customers remained without electricity across Whatcom County at 10 a.m. Monday, according to the PSE website.
Most of those still without power were residents of Point Roberts, which was hardest hit — along with Birch Bay and the foothills communities of Kendall and Maple Falls.
“They took the brunt of the storm, as far as wind goes,” said John Gargett, deputy director of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management.
Sustained winds of almost 40 mph were recorded at the Bellingham International Airport on Thursday, with gusts to 62 mph, according to National Weather Service records.
A gust of 117 mph was recorded by NOAA instruments at the Mt. Baker Ski Area.
Winds toppled trees and snapped utility lines, knocking out power to several thousand Puget Sound Energy customers, mostly for residents outside the city of Bellingham.
PSE said at its website that 165,000 customers across several counties were without power on Thursday, and several transmission and distribution lines were affected.
Damage in Whatcom County was well over $2 million and was expected to climb, Gargett told The Bellingham Herald in a Monday interview.
A wind-driven tidal surge washed across Birch Bay Drive, ripping up asphalt and damaging several oceanfront businesses, Gargett said.
“The Bay Breeze restaurant was red-tagged” because the building is unsafe after waves crashed through during the height of the storm, Gargett said.
A benefit for the restaurant’s employees is planned for 6-9 p.m. Thursday at The Beach in Birch Bay, featuring Scott Kennedy and The Replayzmentz.
Musicians will be donating their time, and there will be donations at the door.
Meanwhile, most of waterfront Birch Bay Drive is open to traffic, Gargett said.
Seasonal “king tides” are running high this week, but calm winds mean there’s little immediate concern for coastal flooding, said Jay Albrecht at the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Restrictions remain on Birch Bay Drive through the Cottonwood Beach area, from Harborview Drive north to Shintaffer Road, Gargett said in an email Monday.
One lane is open northbound on Birch Bay Drive from Harborview to Shintaffer with a 10 mph limit, but the southbound lane is closed indefinitely, he said.
Officers will ticket wrong-way drivers, he said.
In another email Monday, Gargett said that an “After the Storm” public information meeting will be from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Birch Bay Bible Community Church, 4460 Bay Road.
Other roads remain closed across Whatcom County because of storm-related damage, he said.
A list of road closings is at the Whatcom County Public Works Department website.
Even though most power has been restored in the Columbia Valley, an emergency Red Cross Shelter at the East Valley Resource Center in Kendall remains open, Gargett said.
This story was originally published December 24, 2018 at 12:23 PM.
