Explosion in Somerset on July 20, 2020

Dear Neighbors,
 
As some of you are certainly aware, on July 20th at approximately 4:30pm there was an electrical discharge from the PSE lines running over Somerset into tree(s) that had been allowed to grow too close to the high-voltage lines.  A loud explosive noise caused more than 20 of you to call 911.  Several trees and a fence caught fire.  Our neighbor, Bellevue City Councilman Conrad Lee, sent us the photo below of what he witnessed from his house.

SCA President Francis Brito and I visited the site on July 31.  Francis sent an email that evening to the PSE manager with our concerns and a request for answers. This email has been shared with the City Council, Olympic Pipe line and CENSE. Our focus is to help maintain safety in our Community, especially in this case, neighbors along the PSE corridor.  Our requests include that PSE: send an expert in this matter to the site to conduct a comprehensive and detailed review of the entire corridor as it passes across Somerset and provide us a copy of their report, send us a copy of PSE's emergency response procedures and any plans to modify them in response to this incident, send us a copy of the coordinated emergency preparedness plans for the areas where the PSE and Olympic Utilities run within the same corridor through Somerset.
 
A big thanks to those of you who heard the explosion and called 911!  This brought the Bellevue Fire Department to the scene rapidly to extinguish the flames and prevent a much bigger problem.  Don’t ever be afraid to call 911 if you see/hear something concerning.  The more calls occurring for a given event, the more information 911 is able to provide to emergency responders to help ensure they bring sufficient equipment and are prepared for the scene when they arrive.
 
Please share this post with your Somerset friends and feel free to send me feedback on this message or other concerns.
 
Stay safe everyone!
 
Pete Mansfield
SCA Preparedness Chair
[email protected]