Kentwood High School, 25800 164th Ave. SE, in Covington, remained without power Thursday morning, Nov. 21, according to Puget Sound Energy. COURTESY PHOTO, Kent School District

Kentwood High School, 25800 164th Ave. SE, in Covington, remained without power Thursday morning, Nov. 21, according to Puget Sound Energy. COURTESY PHOTO, Kent School District

Kent schools remain closed due to windstorm damage, power outages

Second consecutive day of closures Thursday, Nov. 21 across the Kent School District

All schools remained closed in the Kent School District for the second consecutive day Thursday, Nov. 21 due to power outages and damages by fallen trees from the Nov. 19-20 windstorm.

Twenty of the district’s 44 schools were without power as of Wednesday evening, Nov. 20 when the district announced the closure. An additional seven schools had power but have unsafe trees or damage caused by trees that still need to be addressed, according to the district.

“Due to these power outages and unsafe conditions, many of our schools do not have heat or internet service,” according to a district statement. “Also, there may be unsafe roads and sidewalks due to debris and downed power lines in some areas.”

As of 9 a.m. Thursday, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) reported 282,613 customers remained without power in its large service area. More than 600,000 customers were without power after the windstorm struck. Many outages in Kent are on the East Hill.

PSE prioritizes restoring power to schools, medical facilities and hospitals.

“Crews have been able to restore power to 57 schools with known power outages over the last two days, with continued efforts to restore remaining schools, medical facilities and hospitals,” according to a Thursday morning statement by PSE about its coverage area. “The high winds and resulting tree damage not only downed the smaller, local power lines, but also damaged the larger transmission lines – the larger lines that bring power into communities.

“Crews are beginning to bring transmission lines back online; these lines need to be brought back into service before crews can focus on the local distribution system. Please note that as transmission comes online, there will be temporary spikes in data as those systems are energized, you may see numbers go up and down on the outage map as the process occurs.”

Road closures

The city of Kent reported Thursday morning that four roads remained closed:

• SE 208th St. between 132nd Ave SE to 140th Ave SE for trees in power lines

• Tree blocking intersection at 130th Ave SE and SE 218th Place

• 125th Ave SE and SE 216th St. for fallen tree blocking both lanes

• 127th Ave SE between SE 231st St. and SE 231st Way for fallen tree blocking roadway


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

File Photo
Kent Police call X repost of Israeli soldiers shocking photo ‘human error’

Photo reportedly depicts Hamas member being detained at gunpoint

t
Pedestrian killed in Kent near South 212th Street and 68th Avenue South

Seattle man, 62, dies in Saturday, Nov. 30 collision

Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. File Photo
SeaTac man pleads not guilty to charges in high-speed crash

Reportedly driving 111 mph prior to collision that killed 38-year-old woman

File Photo
Kent Police respond to two 911 calls to help children in need

One of the calls leads to arrest of family friend for investigation of child molestation

COURTESY PHOTO, Kent School District
Kent School District thanks voters for $97.8 million levy approval

Final results show 50.77% voted yes on three-year measure

t
Medical examiner identifies SeaTac man, 21, shot in Kent on West Hill

Khamal J. Blissitt was driving vehicle Nov. 21 on Veterans Drive near Military Road South

State Capitol in Olympia. COURTESY PHOTO, State of Washington
Five 33rd District candidates seek to replace retiring Sen. Keiser

Six Democratic candidates seek state House seat if Orwall or Gregerson chosen as replacement

t
Four WSP vehicles struck in King County, first one in Kent

Crashes during 4-hour period on King County roads; no troopers injured; 3 DUI arrests

File Photo
Kent man, 21, killed in West Meeker Street parking lot shooting

Suspect fired five to 12 shots before fleeing; shooter and victim reportedly knew each other

Courtesy Photo, City of Kent
Kent City Council approves B&O tax increases to hire more police

Additional revenue will pay for four police department positions

t
King County executive will nominate replacements for Upthegrove

District 5, which includes parts of Kent, will get new representative on County Council in January