Washington Storm Update: Nov. 22, 2015

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Sunday update

Comcast crews continue repair work in a broad swath that runs north of Seattle from Whidbey Island to Bellingham to Everett and East King County. But we’ve been able to free up 17 technicians who are making the trip today from Puget Sound to Spokane where they will help with repairs this week. ‘

The technicians are arriving in a place where there are still extensive power outages, which means we can’t yet enter some of the areas with the worst damage to electrical and Comcast systems. But we see power companies around Spokane performing Herculean efforts to restore service. So we expect these visiting technicians to be very, very busy soon restoring XFINITY Internet, video, smarthome and other services to Spokane County customers.

Here are answers to common questions during a prolonged period of storm repair:

When will service be restored to my neighborhood? We are often unable to provide a repair ETA because of the extensive damage to the network. This is because there are some areas that need repair that we cannot approach yet, even several days after the storm. This storm was one of the worst in recorded history in Spokane. We cannot enter areas until power crews have completed their restoration and made the area safe. It’s only then that we can see the full extent of damage and can make repairs.  In addition, as power comes up throughout a region, crews move around.

Will my Comcast services return when my power returns? Almost always yes, but there could be a lag time for a couple of reasons. The good news is that more than 99 percent of the time, when your power comes up, your Xfinity products and services come back up. If you don’t see the services return, it’s good to perform a powercycle to “freshen up” the equipment.

However, it’s only when power is restored to an area that it’s considered safe for other crews to work on a pole. So when your power comes back up, that’s a sign that Comcast crews are now able to enter an area and begin any repairs that are needed to facilities serving your neighborhood.

My power has been on, but I have not had Comcast services. What should I do? On some occasions, you may have power at home, but not Comcast services. This is usually due to damage in the network around you. The network relies on electricity to carry signal not just at your neighborhood, but throughout a city. Large numbers of transmissions facilities are damaged in Spokane. We are grateful for your patience. It is also possible that there is damage to the system at your home or in a neighborhood pocket. If you have had power for some time and want to report any issues with Comcast services, contact us. 

Comcast crews are working hard today and will be working hard through the weekend and next week to restore service as quickly as they can and as safely as they can. We want services restored to each and every Comcast customer.

For a focus on what’s going on in the Spokane area as seen on Twitter, click here to see the results for hashtag #Inlandwind.

Please click here for earlier storm recovery reports.

Below are a couple of videos that show the repair process in two communities north of Seattle.


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