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Storm aftermath presents challenges for Snohomish County

Swaney said 190,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm Friday night, which is more than half of their 365,000 customers in the county.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — Snohomish County continues to deal with the aftermath of Friday's storms, as crews are still working to restore power to thousands of homes. 

"Nobody got injured, we just count our blessings sometimes," said Frank Volkert, the property's landlord at the corner of Rucker and 23rd Avenue in Everett, where a tree was uprooted from the ground by Friday’s storm.

This was perhaps a lucky break for Volkert, who acknowledges things could have been much worse. 

"It could've easily been in the hundreds of thousands of dollars if it would've fallen a little differently as it is now fortunately workable and it could've caused some harm," said Volkert. "We've seen some pretty heavy winds on occasional winters or falls but not anything like last night."

He said the damage is minimal to the neighbor's home where the tree fell, and insurance from his tenants and the neighbors will take care of the matter. Meanwhile, crews are working around the clock throughout Snohomish County dealing with the rest of the storm's aftermath.

"When we go into storm mode, it's all hands on deck," said Aaron Swaney with Snohomish County Public Utility District. 

Swaney said 190,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm Friday night, which is more than half of their 365,000 customers in the county. He said the county has more than 80 employees in the field, and other crews from throughout the state, working on getting power back online.

"Please be patient with us we have crews out there working but for some folks it could be days until they get their power back on,” said Swaney. “If you have a plan B, if you can go stay with a friend or relative that has power now might be the time to do it."

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