Strong wind gusts led to downed trees and power lines across western Washington, impacting numerous communities. Here are the latest updates:

SEATTLE — The number of customers without power across western Washington was slowly dropping Thursday morning after a storm moving through the region the night before.

Around 40,000 were still without power as of 7 a.m., with the largest outages for Puget Sound Energy customers. 

Strong winds were felt across western Washington on Wednesday night, bringing down trees and power lines.

One person died on Wednesday night when a tree fell on their car in the 23200 block of Florence Acres Road in Monroe shortly after 8 p.m. 

In Carnation, Eastside Fire and Rescue crews worked to rescue one person after a tree fell onto their camper near Lake Joy Road Northeast. That person was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The tree that fell on the camper was 70 feet tall and 5 feet in diameter.

While the Wind Advisory and Blizzard Warning have expired, the Cascades and Olympics remain under a Winter Storm Warning until 5 a.m. on Saturday. US 2 over Stevens Pass closed early Thursday for planned avalanche control. 

The some of the debris from the storm was blocking major roadways and local roads across western Washington. Major closures include: 

– State Route 7 between Eatonville Cutoff Road and Alder Cutoff Road (Mileposts 36 to 21)

– State Route 410 between Mud Mountain Road to the west of Greenwater (Mileposts 30 to 40)

– US 101 at mile post 314.34 near the Jefferson and Mason County line


Power outages

Power outages are occurring around western Washington. As of 5:30 a.m.:

Puget Sound Energy is reporting approximately 35,500 customers without power on its outage map. 

Tanner Electric Cooperative is reporting around 4,000 people without power on its outage map. 

Snohomish County PUD shows about 2,200 customers without power on its outage map.

Seattle City Light’s outage map shows approximately 600 customers without power.

Officials urge you to stay at least 30 feet away from downed powerlines. 

KING 5 has activated First Alert for this weather event, which could affect lives, property or travel in the Pacific Northwest region. During this event, the First Alert Weather Team will bring you the latest information to keep you and your family safe.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.