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Date: December 21, 2018
 Ghryn Hobson, Dave Sires, Mike Vollick, John Nardi and Simon Kipperberg work
to remove trees from the roadway after the tornado in Port Orchard.
Winter weather makes for a long week at Kitsap County Public Works
Series of storms and a tornado keeps crews working around-the-clock
(Port Orchard, WA) Crews from Kitsap County Public Works are looking forward to a calm weekend off after winter weather kept crews busy since last Friday. Shortly after 6 p.m. last Friday (12/14) duty staff began receiving reports of trees down. Crews responded in all County areas, and additional crews responded in South Kitsap, where much of the damage was occurring. Trees that did not entangle utility wires were quickly removed, and the road reopened. By 1 a.m. Saturday most of this work was done, and crews stood down. Utility crews worked through the night securing wires so trees could be removed, and roads reopened. Crews returned Saturday while work continued opening roads.
While the weather settled down, there were still stops signs that needed replaced, an oil spill on Seabeck Holly Road, other issues that continued through the weekend. Crews were called out in each instance to respond.
On Tuesday the South Road Shop crew and the crew from our Sign, Signal and Traffic shop were attending a flagging certification class at the Randy W. Casteel Annex, in the Olympic View Industrial Park near Bremerton National Airport. The first call from Kitsap 911 came in Tuesday afternoon as the training was wrapping up. Crews were sent from the annex to the area where the tornado had touched down. Additional crews responded and our Road Superintendent and Communication Manager reported to the Command Center at Walmart.
Traffic crews went to work placing the signs to securely close roads. Other crews began to remove trees and debris from the public roads. This required coordination with the Command Center and on-scene responders to keep everyone safe, and clear debris as quickly as possible. Crews remained on call to support efforts as needed from the Command Center.
By Wednesday afternoon most public rights-of-way in the damage area were cleared, and most roads there were reopened. “We’re proud that we were able to reopen the road in less than 24 hours,” said Andrew Nelson, Public Works Director. “Our role is to provide the infrastructure that allows resources to get to where they’re needed” he added. Getting the road opened allowed contractors and other service providers to reach damaged homes.
Nelson also mentioned the level of professionalism needed for a coordinated response. “Our Superintendent worked closely with the command structure, the utility companies, on-scene responders, and several other agencies to ensure resources were used safely and efficiently,” said Nelson.
Crews continued to assist and support the recovery efforts at the tornado scene Thursday. Just around noon calls began coming in from the North end of the County with trees down and roads closed. The North Kitsap area was the hardest hit, but road problems were spread throughout the County. As many as 35 roads were impacted at one point. The Department’s Recycling and Garbage facilities were running on generator power. Due to power failures the Internet connection that runs the billing system was down, so processing customers were done by using old fashioned pen and paper! The main transfer station, Olympic View in Bremerton also ran on generator power for most of the day.
All four sewer treatment plants, Manchester, Suquamish, Kingston and the main Central Kitsap Treatment plant in Brownsville were on emergency power for most of the day. Running treatment plants on generator requires full time operator presence since the remote plant alarming connectivity to the main treatment plant is impacted during power outages.
Crews prepared in advance for the storm by fueling 50+ generators at pump stations within the sewer collection system. Additionally, crews monitored the fuel levels at pump stations throughout the night to ensure emergency power stayed on at all major pump stations. Stormwater crews were out until approximately 8 PM assisting sewer crews in maintaining pump stations and assisting road crews with debris removal related to the tornado and wind storm.
Road crews worked around-the-clock removing trees and debris and reopening roads. By early Friday morning there were only 8 roads still closed. Those roads are expected to reopen by the end of the day.
“While this week was a bit unusual, the response from our employees was not,” said Nelson. Kitsap County Public Works has on-call crews that respond as needed, night or day. “We plan and prepare for this type of response. Flooding, snow and ice, storms and a myriad of other challenges don’t always happen during working hours. “Our crews are prepared and ready for emergency response. We’re thankful no one was hurt during these storms, and thankful for dedicated employees who are willing and able to help during challenging times. We recognize the damage residents and businesses suffered from these storms and stand by them as needed to help aid recovery efforts,” Nelson added.
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