Yesterday the National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the Puget Sound area, and more rain and wind is expected to arrive late on Wednesday to early Thursday morning. In preparation of the coming winter weather, Seattle City Light has sent out reminders to residents on how to best prepare for the possibility of power outages. And given that the wind caused one of the recent power outages on Queen Anne, these tips might come in handy.

City Light encourages residents to assemble “preparedness kits” including enough food and supplies to last a family three days, a hand-crank or battery-operated flashlight and radio, fresh batteries, a survival blanket, a first aid kit, tissues and hand sanitizer. See a kit checklist here, at takewinterbystorm.org.

“Our crews are ready so that if either of these storms causes any outages, we can restore power as quickly as possible,” Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said in a press release yesterday. “Even so, we want our customers to be prepared in the event of an outage.”

If you do experience a power outage, City Light says you should:

• Make sure not go near any downed wire. Wires should always be assumed to be “live” and dangerous. If someone seeks a downed wire, they should call (206) 706-0051;
• Not use a barbecue grill or generator inside the house or in a garage that is attached to the house. Do not use a grill or generator near a home air intake vent or near windows;
• Not use fossil fuel burning auxiliary heating sources;
• Know how to manually override electric garage doors, security doors and gates;
• Have a land line phone or fully charged cell phone available – cordless phones won’t work when the power is out;
• Unplug electrical appliances if the power goes out so that when the power comes back on, there won’t be a surge that could damage sensitive electronic equipment;
• Use battery-powered flashlights – not candles or oil lamps;
• Close doors, windows, curtains, and unused fireplace dampers to retain heat if there is an outage.

Queen Anne has had a long string of blackouts due to underground cable failures over the last couple of months. And with last week’s outage, came the announcement that City Council approved a 13.8 percent City Light rate increase to start in January 2010.