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Storms cut power for days

SKYKOMISH, Wash. (AP) — Rural mountain communities outside Seattle that have been without power for days and cut off from the outside world by a series of winter storms saw some relief as convoys brought in food and other supplies.

The storms have dumped several feet of unusual snow on parts of western Washington state. As they moved south Thursday, heavy rain and strong winds battered parts of Northern California, while the Lake Tahoe area braced for heavy snow.

Crews in Washington state cleared snow, power lines and trees that had fallen across a highway leading to small towns including Skykomish and Baring, allowing some residents who had been without power for nearly a week to leave and for supplies to be brought in Wednesday. On Thursday afternoon, U.S. Highway 2 fully reopened to all travelers.

Authorities had warned it could be several more days before power is fully restored for hundreds of people in an area along that highway about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northeast of Seattle in the Cascade Range.

“Realistically, I’m not expecting power here for another three or four days,” Skykomish Mayor Henry Sladek told The Seattle Times.

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