Ice and snow bring down trees, power lines in Olympia

OLYMPIA, Wash. – In Olympia, snow and ice-laden tree branches are down on the capitol campus. On the west side of town, downed power lines made several roads impassable.

In fact, our Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins could only get out of his neighborhood on foot. Branches were coming down with regularity around him.

"You hear a snap and a crack and crash and you look around to make sure there are no power lines in the area. My goal is to walk as quickly as possible under the power lines and when I'm walking parallel to them, they're on the other side of the street from where I am. But it's pretty hairy conditions out here," Austin said.

Austin added that he got quite a scare when a power transformer blew right over his head. He eventually did get to the office, by bus, on foot and with help of a friendly motorist. Thousands of power customers in southern Puget Sound are without electricity.

Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network