TACOMA, Wash. — There are still 17 business without power in Tacoma after a deadly single-vehicle crash disrupted electricity along Pacfic Avenue early Saturday morning.
The power is supplied by the University of Washington Tacoma, which is also heavily impacted by the outage.
"We have communicated to businesses regularly, although we do not yet have a clear timeline for restoration of power," a UW Tacoma spokesperson said Thursday in a statement. "We understand and share the urgency and we are working toward a resolution as soon as possible."
The fatal crash occurred at South 21st Street and Pacific Avenue on July 6. Just after 7:30 a.m., the Tacoma Police Department posted on social media about the single-vehicle crash that occurred a block west of the state Route 509/Interstate 705 interchange and south of the Washington State History Museum.
As the lights remain out, university staff are still working to determine a timeline of how long the disruption could last, the spokesperson said. University operations are paused until at least July 20 and summer classes are being taught remotely.
On Thursday evening, a handful of the businesses staged a block party after nearly a week of being unable to open. They set up tables on the sidewalk and conducted as much business as possible, given the circumstances.
"The whole idea behind the block party was to pull the community together, being able to see people and have them visit. It's helpful to have some income after being closed for six days," said Liz Van Dyke of Stocklist Goods & Gifts.
The business owners are preparing for the possibility that it could be weeks before power is fully restored.