A Thank You to the Linemen

Sitting in a house without electricity or heat, during one of the worst storms the Puget Sound region has seen in years, is bad. But being out in the storm, trying to restore power to those people sitting at home, is probably worse.

At least that's what Michael Charlton thinks. He lives in the Echo Lake area, just over the Snohomish County line. The storm has left his neighborhood without power since Wednesday morning. A generator has helped keep the chill off the house, but Michael emailed Woodinville Patch, less concerned about his own comfort than that of the utility workers out braving the elements to restore power.

"[It's] tough on homeowners but brutal on those poor line workers having to work in some miserable conditions. Reminding the Patch readers to be grateful for these guys would be nice," Charlton wrote.

Snohomish County Public Utility District reports that as of 2 p.m., 11,500 of its customers were without power. Puget Sound Energy reports 200,000 customers are off-line. You can check to see what areas are without power at http://sam.pse.com/.

So Woodinville, what do you say, are you grateful to the guys out in the field trying to restore your power? Tell us in comments.