The Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management issued an advisory at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, noting that multiple automobile accidents had occurred due to winter conditions, and urging that motorists either exercise caution or delay their travel, if possible. “Conditions vary by location, stay alert,” the advisory stated.

The DEM issued a second advisory at 9:58 a.m. on Jan. 12, noting that road conditions remained hazardous due to ice, and again urging motorists to consider delaying non-essential travel, since they anticipated the roads would remain icy through Monday, Jan. 15.

“Many roads may remain icy for several days,” the Friday morning advisory stated. “Road crews will continue to sand roads to provide traction, but that may only help so much. Temperatures may be too cold for salt to be effective, and plows cannot remove thin layers of ice.” The advisory concluded, “if you must travel, exercise caution and patience, and stay alert.”

The DEM’s third advisory, at 8:23 p.m. on Jan. 12, reported that the systems of the Jefferson County Public Utility District (PUD) were already at their peak load in multiple areas, including parts of Port Townsend and Port Ludlow, and requested that customers reduce any unnecessary power consumption.

The advisory pointed out that record-low temperatures “mean record power consumption,” with its customers’ power draws leading to outages in the aforementioned parts of Port Townsend and Port Ludlow.

“Since (temperatures) are only going to keep dropping tonight, we are asking county residents to reduce power consumption where they can,” the evening advisory stated. “Keep thermostats at the recommended 68 (degrees Fahrenheit), and avoid heating unnecessary spaces with inefficient resistance wall or space heaters.”

The PUD contacted The Leader on Jan. 12, and again on Jan. 15, as PUD Digital Communications Specialist Jameson Hawn reported the initial storm that rolled through on Jan. 11, “even before the snow itself,” took out power to more than 2,000 customers from Chimacum to Marrowstone, even into Port Townsend.

“Our crews were ready, and had our neighbors re-energized quickly, with most being restored before the snow hit,” Hawn said. “During extreme cold, the demand on our system is far higher. Fortunately, our grid is built to handle this.”

Hawn later confirmed the DEM advisory’s report that extreme low temperatures over the weekend pushed energy usage to new heights, which reached peak load in areas including Port Townsend and Port Ludlow.

“On Friday evening, the extreme cold and high draw caused multiple outages along Cook Avenue and 49th Street in Port Townsend,” Hawn said. “Line crews remained on site in sub-20-degree temperatures, re-energizing customers as quickly as possible, and reducing cold-loading issues.”

Cold-loading is when a large number of homes cool rapidly during a power outage.

“Once the power returns, the system is pushed too hard, as home systems go into emergency mode to reheat, creating further outages,” Hawn said. “To avoid cold-loading issues, line crews must energize homes in sections to avoid overload. Cold-loading greatly increases the time to re-energize an area.”

Such usage-related outages,plus the overall demand on its substations, led the PUD to coordinate with the DEM to release an alert asking Jefferson County residents to reduce power consumption where possible.

“We also posted the alert to or Facebook and Nextdoor social media platforms,” Hawn said. “The response by the community was immediate, and we began seeing power usage drop countywide. Thanks to the combined efforts of our co  mmunity, our crews were able to quickly manage load-related outages. We are grateful to the community for coming together to reduce that overall load during the intense cold.”

To further reduce cold-load pickup, Hawn asked PUD customers to go to their home circuit breakers and switch off their water heaters, and even furnaces, in the event that they experience a prolonged outage.

“Wait between 30 minutes to an hour after power is restored to switch them on,” Hawn said. “This can be a challenge if it’s cold, but it helps a lot with cold-load pickup.”

A tip Hawn provided to homeowners from the PUD’s line crews is to turn on a front porch light when an outage occurs. “Our system easily identifies outages on a neighborhood level, but a physical light, to reference when power is restored, helps our crews a lot,” Hawn said.

He also echoed the DEM’s call for motorists to take care and drive safely, since line crews in the field are often working on or near roadways in challenging conditions.

“We ask that folks please drive safely around work areas, and give those crews as much space as possible,” Hawn said. “And please stay away from any downed lines! Do not drive over, or attempt to remove, any lines crossing a driveway or roadway, because there is often no way to tell if a line is energized.”

Hawn additionally warned the public never to touch a downed line that’s in contact with a tree or branch, as those objects could also be energized. Instead, call the PUD customer service line at 360-385-5800 to report any line contacts or lines on the ground, as well as any outages.

The PUD’s outage map is updated at jeffpud.org/outage-info online. The PUD is posting additional updates at its Facebook page, at facebook.com/JeffCoPUD online.

For information on Jefferson County's snow and ice control program, visit co.jefferson.wa.us/921/Snow-and-Ice-Control online.

For information on the Jefferson Interfaith Action Coalition’s Winter Welcoming Center, visit jeffersoninterfaithaction.org/wwc online.