Hanukkah Eve windstorm of 2006

Impact

Washington

The storm left extensive devastation across Washington, especially tree damage, which knocked down numerous power lines. Fallen trees also led to several road closures, including a section of I-5 near Chehalis. For the first time in its history, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was closed. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport partially lost power, canceling most flights. Flooding was also reported in low-lying areas from the heavy rain.

The electricity grid was hit very hard, as about 1.2 million customers lost power in the state, and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) reported that more than 75% of its circuits were damaged. Municipal utilities also suffered severe damage. In the Seattle area, hundreds of thousands of families still remained without power several days after the storm, and many had to leave their homes and move into hotels or emergency shelters coping with the inclement weather. Major employers in the area were affected; the power outage forced Microsoft to shut down large portions of its campus in Redmond on December 15.

The Seattle School District and many surrounding districts closed, marking the first time Seattle schools were closed for a weather-related reason other than snow.

It was described as the worst storm to hit the region since the Inauguration Day storm of January 20, 1993.

Deaths

Fourteen people were killed in Western Washington. One of them was 41-year-old voice actress Kate Fleming (aka Anna Fields) who was trapped in a flooded basement in Seattle's Madison Valley. In Grays Harbor County, Markus Stickles was killed by a tree that fell into his home in McCleary. In Gig Harbor, Washington, Pritchard Miller and his dog were electrocuted after stepping on a downed power line. In Pierce County, two motorists were hit by falling trees. Eatonville resident Harold Fox, 47, was killed while trying to avoid a fallen tree south of Spanaway. Near McKenna, 37-year-old Roy resident Bonnie Bacus died as the result of a tree falling onto the cab of a truck, in which she was a passenger; her husband, who was driving the truck, died three months later. Steven Thielen died in Spanaway as a result of a house fire caused by the use of candles for light.

Eight deaths occurred as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Five of those were members of a single Burien family. Adam Butcher, his wife Jackie Harris, and two sons, Jason Shane Butcher, 14 and Raymond Zachary Butcher, 21, died of asphyxiation because of a generator running in a closed garage attached to their home. Another son, Rick Taylor Butcher, 24, died in a hospital on January 20, 2007, as a result of his injuries. Alejandro Nava-Solis of Kirkland, Juan Figueroa-Gomez of Renton, and Shah Fazli of Kenmore were also among the carbon monoxide deaths.

Newspapers

For the first time in 70 years, on December 15 the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was not able to publish copies of its newspaper. As a result of a power outage at a printing plant in Bothell, the Seattle Times was only able to publish 13,000 copies of its Friday edition.

The following day, both newspapers had to be printed by The News Tribune of Tacoma by virtue of an agreement to use each others' printing presses during emergencies.

For its December 20 edition, the Seattle Times put carbon monoxide warnings on its front page in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Somali, and Russian to get the word out to the immigrant community about the dangers of carbon monoxide in light of recent deaths.

State of Emergency and recovery

On December 18, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire declared a State of Emergency in Western Washington as a result of the damages. On January 11, the Governor requested a federal disaster declaration and on February 14, the declaration was approved by President Bush.

Air quality

In the wake of the storm, the quality of air deteriorated due to the increased use of wood stoves and fireplaces while the air was stagnant.

Contributing factors

Just previous to the windstorm, Seattle set a new record for rainfall in a single month with nearly 16 inches (410 mm) of rain falling in November 2006, much of it from a series of Pineapple Express rain storms in the first week of the month. Combined with several days of snow and ice later in the month, and continuing rain throughout the first half of December 2006, the ground in the Puget Sound region was extremely waterlogged and loose.

Additionally, large portions of the planted trees in the Seattle metropolitan area were at the end of their lifespan, being some 60 to 70 years of age or more. To compound this, many tree species had shallow root systems that did not extend past the waterlogged soil.

The result of these factors was that many thousands of large, old trees easily uprooted and tipped over, frequently with tons of mud captured in their roots, and crashed into homes and power lines.

The major tree loss in old growth areas was at borders where more recent logging has occurred. Forest cover holds together as a group during strong winds and these cuts into the original areas created open edges for trees to be hit horizontally by wind.

Oregon

The high winds also left damage in Oregon. Extensive tree damage was reported, some of which fell on houses or on power lines. More than 350,000 customers lost power at the peak of the storm. Shelters were opened in the coastal regions as a result of the storm damage. Governor Ted Kulongoski requested a federal disaster declaration on January 31, 2007.

Two people were killed due to a house fire in Seaside during a power outage. The severe weather also hampered the rescue efforts of three missing climbers on Mount Hood; one climber was later found dead and the other two are missing and presumed dead. On the Oregon Coast, three sailors hired to sail a catamaran from South Africa to Seattle went missing. The 50 ft (15 m) boat was found overturned on a beach near Lincoln City the morning of December 15. The crew was last seen leaving San Francisco on December 8. The search for the three sailors was called off on the afternoon of December 16.

British Columbia

For British Columbia, the storm followed several others that occurred in the preceding weeks. The most high-profile damage caused by the storm was the breaking and uprooting of around 10,000 trees in Stanley Park in downtown Vancouver. In addition to Stanley Park, extensive damage was reported to trees around the Lower Mainland, which also took power lines down with them as well as a number of houses, notably on exposed areas of West Vancouver facing west over Howe Sound. BC Ferries service was disrupted along the coast, along with other transit disruption, closed roads, and closed schools. At its peak, BC Hydro reported that over 250,000 customers were without power.

An elderly couple died of asphyxiation as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning in Burnaby.