SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. -- Frustration is reaching a fever pitch in Snohomish County, with temperatures dropping once again and more than 17,000 still without power as of Friday evening. Now, there are reports of homeowners going rogue to try to get the lights back on.
A homeowner on 202nd Street Southeast near Monroe said he saw two men who clearly didn't work for a power company using a ladder to try to re-attach a downed line. The man told KING 5 he reported it to Snohomish County PUD right away.
The public utility district wrote this response on Facebook: "We're checking this out right now. It is BEYOND dangerous to have civilians working on lines. Thank you for telling us."
Snohomish County PUD then posted a similar message on Twitter.
A spokesperson told KING 5 they understand that homeowners are getting frustrated, but said no one should ever attempt to restore power on their own. He said people should assume every downed power line is live, and wait for professionally trained power crews to make the repair.
Neighbors on 202nd Street Southeast were in disbelief when they heard about the alleged attempt at a rogue repair.
"Even getting close to a wire on the ground can kill you," said Paul Riley. "It's way too far. Nothing like that is worth dying for."
Snohomish County PUD's 9 p.m. update on Friday said the outages are down to approximately 17,000. If you still don't have power in Snohomish County, call 425-783-1001.
Eighty-eight crews with more than 500 workers will be working throughout the weekend to restore power to those remaining customers, but it's estimated many will remain in the dark through Sunday.
