Tag: Skagit Hydroelectric Project

❄️Winter Wonderland at City Light’s Hydroelectric Projects❄️

It’s that time of the year in Seattle. You know, when dreary clouds outstay their welcome and cold rain reliably pelts your face every time you venture outdoors.

While our facilities in Seattle have stayed soggy for most of the season, our other facilities are dealing with a different (and some would argue more pleasant) kind of precipitation: snow! Our hydroelectric projects in the North Cascades and in northeastern Washington have had enough snow to make Jack Frost jealous.

City Light employees from across the state sent us these frosty photos to show what the weather is like in their neck of the woods. Grab a cup of hot cocoa, wrap up in your favorite blanket and browse through these delightful snowscapes.

A special thanks to all of those who submitted photos!

❄️Winter Wonderland at City Light’s Hydroelectric Projects❄️

It’s that time of the year in Seattle. You know, when dreary clouds outstay their welcome and cold rain reliably pelts your face every time you venture outdoors.

While our facilities in Seattle have stayed soggy for most of the season, our other facilities are dealing with a different (and some would argue more pleasant) kind of precipitation: snow! Our hydroelectric projects in the North Cascades and in northeastern Washington have had enough snow to make Jack Frost jealous.

City Light employees from across the state sent us these frosty photos to show what the weather is like in their neck of the woods. Grab a cup of hot cocoa, wrap up in your favorite blanket and browse through these delightful snowscapes.

A special thanks to all of those who submitted photos!

Newhalem-Diablo Fire Brigade Rolls Out New Ambulance

What has four wheels, a hydraulic lift, snow chains that engage with the flip of a switch and is covered in red? If you guessed Newhalem-Diablo Fire Brigade’s new state-of-the-art ambulance, you’re correct! For the first time in nearly 25 years, the brigade will have a new unit to respond to emergencies at the Skagit Project and the surrounding community.

The ambulance was custom made to meet the unique needs of the mostly-volunteer brigade. City Light’s Rick Haggard and Levi Clark worked closely with the team to ensure that the ambulance was ready for almost any situation, from bumps and bruises within the project to emergencies on the North Cascades Highway.

Safety was also a top priority for the team. With four-point harnesses, a stretcher mount that can sustain 20Gs of force and airbags that protect the first responders, this vehicle takes care of both the responder and the patient.

“This is a unique vehicle in our fleet of over 1,000 pieces of equipment,” explains Rick Haggard, fleet manager in Fleet and Mobile Equipment. “It was a refreshing and rewarding project working as a team to accomplish the ambulance design and final delivery. The fleet office takes great pride in delivering the safest equipment possible to all City Light employees.”

This week, the ambulance will make its way to the Skagit Hydroelectric Project. The brigade will have an operator training and will report for duty the following week.

City Light Completes Repairs on Newhalem Penstock

A Seattle City Light contractor recently completed a year long project at the Skagit Hydroelectric Project to replace 52 deteriorating, wooden saddles that support the Newhalem Penstock. The old wooden saddles were replaced with new, cast-in-place concrete saddles that will provide structural support so that the penstock will not collapse.

Original wooden saddles (left image) that support the Newhalem Penstock were replaced with new, concrete saddles (right image).

The Newhalem Penstock is located on the south bank of the Skagit River, in the town of Newhalem, WA. The project is within the Ross Lake National Recreation Area, which is part of the North Cascades National Park Complex.

The penstock is a pipe that provides water from the creek to the hydro turbines that are located inside the historical Newhalem Powerhouse. The water turns the turbines, which produces electricity for City Light.

Seattle City Light thanks all campground visitors for their patience during the successful completion of this project.

Learn about this project and others by visiting Seattle City Light’s “At Work in Your Neighborhood” website.

Seattle City (spot)Light: Vonie Polomis

Vonie Polomis has worked for the City of Seattle for more than 33 years. Born in Washington, she’s lived in different parts of the state like Chelan, Yakima and Spokane. Now, Vonie enjoys the scenic beauty of the North Cascades as an Administrative Specialist III at City Light’s Skagit project where she’s lived the past 10 ½ years.

Family is also the upmost importance to Vonie who has two children and three grandchildren. She’s also an animal lover which is seen through the affection and care toward her 13-year old pet dove, Girlbird. In this week’s (spot)light, we learn about Vonie’s love of people, her community and Mother Nature.

Vonie is all smiles with her pet dove, Girlbird

“It’s been a blessing in my life to be up here. People always ask me how I live here. My reply is ‘How can I NOT?’ When I walk out that door, I’m in God’s country. The mountains are just beautiful; I’m so at peace in my home. I have two huge 12-foot windows where I just sit and look at nature. I like to feed the birds. I joke that the blue jays think of me as the bird lady.”

“I love people and the work I do for City Light. Customer service is something I greatly value. I also enjoy working with all the different teams and meeting the different folks throughout the utility. I’ve been with the City for the chunk of my career so I have a whole network back in Seattle! I work hard to make sure that the Skagit project sees different programs and events, such as Family Day and the RSJI initiative which I’ve been involved with the past six years.”

“I like being involved with the community. The people of Concrete are waiting for me to move there! So, now I’m thinking of what I can do for them once I’m there. One of the things that comes to mind is a Boys and Girls Club. They don’t have one and I’d like to focus on that when I move to town. They also want me on the Historical Museum Committee.”

“Another hobby of mine is softball. I played into my 40s. There’s a softball tournament called ‘Squash Ball’ that’s been held for the past 30 years or so. It’s with the firefighters in the community and other local folks. Anyway, I realized that Newhalem didn’t have a team last year. So, I rallied and made it happen. I even played! I actually hit the ball and got a double. It was amazing. So much fun.”

“I’ve come across many people in my life, but one piece of advice from a friend really stood out. She told me ‘If you don’t define yourself, I guarantee you that somebody else will, and you won’t like it.’ And that’s what I live by. I’m even writing a book about it called ‘I Wish I had the Nerve.’ Maybe one of these days when I retire, I’ll finally finish it!”