Thousands without power in Bellingham; county-run severe-weather shelter full, Car crashes into gas line outside Village Books in Fairhaven Wednesday, Significant coastal flooding reported in Sandy Point this morning, Significant coastal flooding reported in Sandy Point this morning, Pipeline spill update – both lanes reopened, cleanup suspended due to weather, Inslee’s final State of the State address, Alaska says it will continue to cancel flights through Saturday, Free and Cheap
______________________________
Independent, nonprofit community radio.
KMRE brings you local news for Wednesday, January 12. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Thousands without power in Bellingham; county-run severe-weather shelter full
The winter weather surge last night has caused thousands to lose power and winter severe weather shelters to reach capacity.
According to Puget Sound Energy, over 4,300 Bellingham residents lost power. People in Blaine, Custer, Laurel, neighborhoods east of Lynden, and west of Ferndale also lost electricity.
Whatcom County’s Severe Weather shelter reached its cap of 45 beds ninety minutes after opening its doors. The city is working to find alternative warming sources to help more people find warmth amid the bitter weather.
A windchill advisory is now in effect, and experts predict that overnight lows could reach 20 degrees below zero, which can give exposed skin frostbite within 30 minutes.
STORY: Car crashes into gas line outside Village Books in Fairhaven Wednesday
A car crashed into a gas line outside Village Books in Fairhaven on Wednesday.
According to Sarah Hutton, co-owner of the business, the entire building, including the residences above, was evacuated around 3 p.m. when the incident occurred. However, Bellingham PD, Fire, and Cascade Natural Gas arrived promptly.
Cascade turned off the gas and once the building was cleared of gas fumes, people were allowed back inside and service was eventually restored.
STORY: Significant coastal flooding reported in Sandy Point this morning
Severe flooding was reported in the Sandy Point area this morning.
Fire Chief Jim Petrie stated that he headed out around 5am to assess conditions during high tide. To his surprise, Petrie found that a westerly wind was pushing a 10-ft high tide across the peninsula, which resulted in the flooding of nearby residences and roads. Impacts are reportedly most severe around the south end of the point at the intersection of Sucia Drive and Patos Drive.
Petrie says he deployed a flood boom to help protect the fire station but warns that the use of the precautionary measure takes firefighting and emergency aid equipment out of service.
Winds are expected to shift to the northeast sometime today and ease the flooding danger.
STORY: Pipeline spill update – both lanes reopened, cleanup
suspended due to weather
The monitoring of the pipeline gasoline spill cleanup in Conway will pause today due to inclement weather, but should resume operations on Tuesday.
According to the Department of Ecology, while field operations are suspended, boom maintenance will continue through this period and critical personnel will monitor the area 24/7. To date, air quality reads show that the area is not dangerous to public health.
As of January 10th, approximately 8,300 gallons of gasoline have been recovered from the leak. The Unified Command estimates the entire spill to be over 21,000 gallons.
STORY: Inslee’s final State of the State address
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee delivered his final State of the State address on Tuesday night.
Despite terming it not a quote “farewell speech,” it marked his final address before the upcoming elections. He highlighted policy successes, including climate initiatives, education funding, prescription drug costs, and gun law changes. Democrats praised Inslee’s priorities, while Republicans criticized challenges under his administration, particularly regarding crime, education, and housing affordability.
Inslee also renewed calls for a constitutional amendment securing abortion rights– a divisive issue heading into the 2024 elections– and urged legislators to continue their efforts and quote “finish strong”.
STORY: Alaska says it will continue to cancel flights through Saturday
In the aftermath of another emergency landing, Alaska Airlines announced it will continue to cancel flights through Saturday.
The cancellation of hundreds of flights comes as a Hawaii-bound Alaska flight on a Boeing 737 was diverted to Portland on Wednesday afternoon due to “communications issues.” Just a few days earlier, a hole blew out of a 737 MAX 9 after it took off – an incident that prompted the grounding of the MAX 9 by the Federal Aviation Administration until further notice. The agency is currently investigating both cases.
Alaska says they are working with passengers to make sure they can get alternate flights.
STORY: Free and Cheap
Looking for something free or cheap to do this weekend? Here are some events happening around the county.
A storytime is being held by Whatcom County Dairy Ambassadors at the Lyden Heritage Museum. Hear stories about dairy farms, dairy products, and agriculture while enjoying some snacks! The event begins at 3 on Saturday.
Young author Sana Vinoth will be reading her newest book Sana and Clara, Protectors of Pandas at Village Books and Paper Dreams. The event will run from 2 to 3 pm on Saturday, with the young author reading excerpts from her book about protecting endangered species.
Finally, the Upfront Theatre is hosting the Winter Laughter Games today and tomorrow at 9:30 pm. Improvisers will compete in comedy improv games in made-up categories and do their best to win points awarded by the audience. General admission is 14 dollars or 10 dollars for students.
WX: Snow, Wind Advisories
There is both a Wind and Wind Chill Advisory in place today. Overnight temperatures will drop to a low of 8 degrees. Winds are expected to have gusts as high as 25 mph tonight, causing wind chills to dip as low as 20 degrees below zero. The cold winds can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
Tomorrow will be warmer and less windy, but still below freezing. Bundle up and stay warm!
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN), Carlos Braga, Connor O’Boyle, and Tristan Trudell. Tune in to local news on KMRE weekdays at 3, 4 and 5 p-m. For news tips and feedback, send us an email at news@kmre.org or call 360-398-6150. KMRE is a nonprofit community radio station, powered by listener donations. If you would like to help keep local news accessible, check out our new Patreon page at patreon.com/kmrenews or go to kmre.org and click on the banner. I’m ________________, and thanks for listening.
##
