Fire and power outage on Orcas

By Mandi Johnson • January 10, 2017 1:30 am

A fallen tree caused a wildfire and power outages in the early afternoon on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

Around 12:30 p.m., a tree – located near the intersection of Orcas Road and Langdon Road, southeast of Eastsound – was toppled by strong winds and fell on a power line. The live wire sparked a small fire that Orcas Island Fire and Rescue immediately responded to, but firefighters were advised to wait for Orcas Power and Light Cooperative to stop electricity to the line before proceeding with suppression efforts.

By 2:45 p.m., OPALCO’s online outage center reported that power had been returned to all areas east of the fire, including Rosario, Olga, Obstruction Pass and Blakely Island.