AP

A utility worker prepares to reattach power lines knocked out by the wind storm in Kent.

SEATTLE - Utility crews are working nonstop through the weekend to restore service to hundreds of thousands of people still without power after a windstorm hit Western Washington.

Puget Sound Energy has restored power to about 350,000 customers by Saturday evening. The state's largest private utility says 280,000 are still without power. Most of the homes and businesses without power were in King County, where 200,000 outages remain.

"We've never seen anything like this before," said Puget Sound Energy CEO Steve Reynolds.

Reynolds said the damage is far worse than what occurred after the Inauguration Day storm in 1993.

"From a simple scale standpoint, the number of customers involved, the sheer number of pieces of equipment that are down, that have to be repaired, this is bigger," he said.

Reynolds said by Monday, PSE will have over 330 crews from all parts of the west and from as far away as Illinois working in Western Washington.

Still, it could be several days before everyone is restored.

"The real issue continues to be the sheer amount of work that has to be done," said Reynolds.

Reynolds said PSE has identified more than 800 jobs.

"To put that into perspective, during the big storm four or five days ago, the total number of those incidents we had was only 150," he said. "Two days into this storm we still have 800 of those types of significant projects to repair."

"Some people are going to have to be prepared for a long haul," said Reynolds.

About 21,000 Seattle City Light customers were in the dark Sunday after crews worked throughout the night. Isolated outages were reported in Skyway, Tukwila, Rainier Valley, Mount Lake, Leschi, Madrona and parts of West Seattle, Southpark, Burien and Normandy Park.

"We expect to have a majority of our customers restored by Monday," said Peter Clarke, a utility spokesman.

North of Seattle, the Snohomish County Public Utility District had restored service to all but 9,000 customers. Those still without power Sunday were mostly in the county's south and east region, sections of Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mount Lake Terrace, Clearview and Bothell, utility spokesman Neil Neroutsos said. Some scattered outages also remained on Camano Island.

Power was slowly coming back on for people in Pierce County, where about 3,000 customers were without power in Tacoma and in pockets throughout the county, utility spokeswoman Chris Gleason said.

More than 1,000 customers remained without service in Grays Harbor County on the coast.

To the east, about 3,300 were still without power Sunday after service was restored for much of Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Utility crews with Avista Corp. had shifted focus to the more rural areas of Deer Park and Loon Lake, north of Spokane, and Hayden, Idaho, north of Coeur d'Alene.

"Those areas tend to be more wooded, so it's going to take longer for us to get to the power lines," Avista spokeswoman Laurine Jue said.

The storm was the worst in more than a decade. At its peak, the windstorm knocked out power to more than a million people.

KING

The guest escaped this burning house in Bellevue but three cats died and another is missing.

By Sunday, the storm had resulted in at least six deaths

Parts of airport loses power

Parts of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport lost power late Saturday night. Airport spokesman Bob Parker said the outage of unknown origin started around 10:30 p.m.

The cargo area, the North Satellite and D Concourse were without power and the airport's subway system wasn't working for a short time.

Parker said the airport doesn't have many flights going that late, but some flight operations were affected. Passengers were being bused to the South Satellite until the subway system started working again.

The power outage did not affect the runway lights or the control tower. Parker said there was a report of a power poll coming down near the airport, but no connection to the power outage was confirmed.

Think safety

Officials warned people not to use outdoor grills, propane heaters or other carbon-monoxide-producing equipment indoors after firefighters in south suburban Kent found 33 people from four families suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning Friday night. They had brought their barbecues inside to cook food or heat their apartments as temperatures dipped into the 30s.

At least 100 people, including one man who died, suffered carbon monoxide poisoning after they dragged generators and charcoal grills inside to stay warm.

A 26-year-old Kirkland man was found dead in his home Saturday with a generator running in the living room. Other victims as young as 11 months were treated at Seattle-area hospitals after inhaling carbon monoxide.

At least five people remained at Harborview Medical Center on Sunday, one in serious condition and the others stable.

Virginia Mason has treated more than 55 victims in its hyperbaric chamber, which re-oxygenates the blood.

"If you are seeking warmth until your power is restored, please seek out safe options, such as shelters, or the kindness of friends and family," said Dorothy Teeter, interim director and health officer for Public Health Seattle & King County. "Carbon monoxide poisoning can kill you, and these cases we've seen show how serious the risk is."

Storm was a record-breaker

The storm hit late Thursday, and by early Friday winds gusted to a record 69 mph at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking the old mark of 65 mph set in 1993. Winds were clocked at 113 mph near Mount Rainier.

Drenching rain accompanied the first wallop as the storm hit King County on Thursday afternoon, slowing commuters to a crawl. The winds picked up again around midnight, and moved into Eastern Washington later Friday, toppling trees and cutting power to thousands of people in the Inland Northwest. In Spokane, wind gusts reached 54 mph.

Winds were clocked in the 80s along the Strait of Juan de Fuca leading inland toward Seattle, 74 mph at the Hood Canal floating bridge, which links the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas, and 63 mph at the Evergreen Point floating bridge, one of two linking Seattle with the suburbs east of Lake Washington.

Temperatures in the region dropped into the 20s and lower 30s by Saturday night. The chance of rain or snow had diminished throughout most of the area, and temperatures will gradually increase through Sunday night, with Monday's highs returning to the 40s, said Johnny Burg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Scott Thorsteinson

A viewer sent this shot of six large trees on a house in the Lake Tapps - Bonney Lake area.

"For some people that might not be much but it's definitely better than staying in the deep freeze," Burg said.

Governor expands emergency from storm

Gov. Chris Gregoire on Sunday expanded her state of emergency proclamation to all 39 counties in the state.

The proclamation is for damage caused by the windstorm that swept through Thursday night and early Friday. Gregoire issued the proclamation for 17 Western Washington counties on Saturday, and included Eastern Washington on Sunday.

Gregoire said that while the weather can't be controlled, the state can provide as much support as possible in the recovery process.

The proclamation allows state agencies to use their resources to assist local communities in their recovery efforts, and authorizes the Washington National Guard to activate its resources if needed.

Four dead

Steven Thielen, 48, died Saturday when a candle he apparently was using for light ignited a fire.

The fire that killed Thielen broke out about 8 a.m. Saturday morning. Ed Troyer of Pierce County Sheriff's said candles appear to be the cause of the blaze that broke out about 8 a.m.

Troyer said Thielen's death and high number of carbon monoxide poisonings highlight the danger of staying at home in the dark. He said when people get cold, they get desperate.

Two people died from falling trees in Pierce County. In the first incident, a driver who tried to avoid a fallen tree by making an evasive maneuver hit another tree. An hour later, a falling tree struck a pickup truck, killing a woman and severely injuring a man who is in critical condition at Madigan Army Medical Center.

In Grays Harbor County, the McCleary Fire Department said a 28-year-old man was crushed while he slept when the top of a tree snapped off in the wind around midnight and crashed into his trailer home.

In Seattle's Madrona neighborhood, 6 feet of water trapped Kate Fleming, 41, inside a windowless basement room. Fire department divers found the woman who had been underwater for eight minutes. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center where she later died.

Shelters

For temporary shelters in Seattle, call 1-866-4CRISIS.

Red Cross has opened a shelter at Oak Harbor's senior citizen center for anyone who needs help.

Two shelters also opened Friday night in Bellevue - one at the North Bellevue Community Center on 148th Ave. NE, and the other at Bellevue High School just off Bellevue Way.

The Red Cross also opened an emergency shelter at the Bonney Lake Senior Center next to Bonney Lake City Hall.

In Seattle:

- Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Lynden Ave North

- Delridge Community Center, 4501 Delridge Way SW

- Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Ave S.

- SW Community Center, 2801 Sw Thistle St

 There is additional shelter space available for the homeless through Operation Night Watch in downtown Seattle at City Hall, 600 5th Ave. and the Fry Hotel at 1425 4th Ave.

Helpful tips

The City of Bellevue provided the following tips for those affected by the storm:

- Check on your neighbors, relatives and friends that may have limited means to care for themselves. Lacking power, the risks to the elderly increase greatly. If your relatives live alone, call or visit them if you can do so safely. Walk next door to your neighbor and see if they are ok. If they need assistance, help them find a shelter with electricity for the night. With the resources available, there are many opportunities to help keep at-risk residents warm and safe.

- Ask for help. Don't put it off too long out of pride. If you are in a high risk category due to age, disability, illness or any other reason, call someone and let them know if you are concerned about your ability to care for yourself.

- Pitch in. If you have the skills and tools to do so safely, do what you can to clear your property of debris and waste. This allows relief crews to move on to more serious problems, which in turn will speed the return of power and critical function to affected areas. If you can, help your surrounding neighbors do the same.

- Dispose of debris appropriately. There is a burn ban in effect in Bellevue, and burning yard waste is not only illegal, but potentially dangerous. With Fire and Rescue personnel spread thin, a yard waste fire that gets out of control stretches their ability to respond that much further.

- Stay home unless absolutely necessary. The biggest limitation in the return of services is the traffic congestion preventing power provider crews from getting to the affected areas, reducing response time by as much as 50 percent.