REDMOND, Wash. — Within the first few hours of his neighborhood losing power, a Redmond man fired up his generator to establish a makeshift hub for his neighbors, even taking in a family of four after a tree toppled onto their home, nearly splitting it in half.
Like many eastside communities, a large chunk of Redmond has been without power since Tuesday's bomb cyclone ripped across western Washington.
"It took out big power lines... it was a massive storm," said Charles Needham. "We have a neighborhood that will look out for each other and we'll get through this."
He and his wife are powering their home with a generator.
Several power strips are scattered across their floor, connected to phone chargers so neighbors can keep their devices powered up.
Needham said he's also established a power-sharing rotation so other neighbors can keep their refrigerators cold enough to prevent their food from spoiling.
But perhaps the biggest act of kindness came when Needham learned his neighbors who live around the corner were unable to spend Tuesday night in their own home after a tree crashed through two bedrooms, a bathroom and an office.
"It was a dangerous time. We didn't want their children running around. [They're] 17 and 8 so we didn't want them in that. So yeah, we took them in without hesitation," Needham said. "So we had this family of four in our tiny little house all the sudden, but its just like inviting family in so it was all good."
The displaced family has since checked into a hotel after meeting with its insurance company, Needham said.
Puget Sound Energy has warned customers some outages might not be restored until Saturday.
"My generator is going to be busy," Needham said, adding that he's not upset about the potential length of the outage.