A power outage triggered by a single car that hit a utility pole Saturday night left more than 1,000 people on the Island in the dark and cold for hours.

The car hit the pole at the intersection of Point Robinson Road and Dock-ton Road around 6 p.m. Saturday, where the impact caused the pole to snap and dangle perilously, breaking transmission lines that served a large number of customers, according to Abigail  Elliott, a spokesperson for Puget Sound Energy. Islanders reported seeing several large flashes of light after the accident.

More than 1,700 people were immediately without power, Elliott said. PSE was able to reroute some of those customers, and by later that night, about 1,200 customers had no power.

Power was restored by 3:40 p.m. Sunday, after PSE crews brought a new pole to the Island and installed it, Elliott said. Wires, a transformer and other equipment also had to be replaced, she said.

The driver did not remain on the scene, according to Patti McClements, who runs PSE’s service center on Vashon. Several car parts were found at the site, and PSE is working with authorities to track down the driver.

The outage forced Islanders to be resourceful, some said. At “The Nut-cracker,” a performance at The Blue Heron, for instance, dancers sang Christmas carols and asked the audience ballet trivia questions while waiting for the power to be restored, said Ellie Hughes, one of the dancers. The show started about 30 minutes late.

“It was crazy. But it was also fun,” she said.

 

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