09:55 PM PST on Wednesday, January 7, 2004

From KING5/KING5.com Staff Reports

SEATTLE - Thousands of residents throughout the Puget Sound region were without power Wednesday morning, due to downed power lines from ice or fallen tree branches weighed down by snow.

Countless homes and businesses lost power overnight after fallen trees, pulled down by power lines, knocked out electricity in the Seattle area, the Eastside, and several other locations around Western Washington.

KING A light layer of snow coated streets of Seattle early Tuesday morning.

By Wednesday evening, Puget Sound Energy had 45,000 customers without power, Snohomigh PUD 6,000, and Seattle City Light 4,300.

Seattle City Light Spokeswoman Sharon Bennett said of the outages are on the north and south sides of the city, with outages in Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, Richmond Beach, Burien, Tukwila, and White Center. She said the utility was concerned that melting snow Wednesday could flood underground vaults.

If you see a power line downed by tree branches, Seattle City Light advises to NOT go near or touch the tree branches or power lines and instead call your utility company.

Customers without power can call the following numbers to report a power outage:

Puget Sound Energy: 1-888-225-5773

Seattle City Light: Outage hotline with recorded info: 206-684-7400, general info/reporting a downed line: 206-684-3000

Snohomish County PUD: 425-783-1000

The Associated Press contributed to this report.