A winter storm this week severely damaged homes, seriously injured a Freeland man and left thousands on the South End without power for days.

The storm slammed into South Whidbey on Tuesday afternoon, with gusts topping 55 mph, according to the weather station at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

Though impacts were felt throughout the Puget Sound region, the South End was among the hardest hit communities.

At least three homes sustained heavy damage from falling trees, as did power lines from Clinton to Greenbank. In all, more than 4,000 Puget Sound Energy customers lost power on the South End, and more than 220,000 throughout Western Washington, the company reported.

Similarly, about half of Snohomish County Public Utility District’s 332,000 customers lost power Tuesday, and as of Thursday evening 28,000 still didn’t have the lights back on.

Restoration efforts were hampered by road debris. Fallen trees, branches and wires were a significant logistical challenge, which made access tough.

Highway 525 was clear by Wednesday morning, but road crews, including those from Island County Public Works, were still busy removing downed trees from rural roads and thoroughfares through Thursday.

Puget Sound Energy reported that as many as 78 crews were working around the region, and that it had brought in outside help.

Though the high winds subsided by Wednesday morning, many affected residents spent a chilly night without power, and people were lining up at gas stations to buy fuel for hungry generators. The wait at the Valero in Clinton was about 30 minutes.

Among those at the ethanol-free-fuel pump were Langley residents Leonard and Linda Good. They had some trees fall on their property, but weathered the storm fine and wmanaged not to freeze overnight.

“We have a wood stove, so that kept us warm,” said Linda Good, with a smile.

She noted that this past December they were without power for five days. She was hoping it wouldn’t be as long this time.

Others were less fortunate. Mike Cotton, deputy chief for South Whidbey Fire/EMS, reported large trees fell on three houses near Langley; no one was hurt but the homes are all uninhabitable. Two families declined to be interviewed for this story and asked that their homes not be photographed. The third is reportedly being assisted by Red Cross volunteers and did not return requests for comment.

Also, an unidentified Freeland man was seriously injured on Thursday in a woodcutting accident and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The details remain unclear but authorities say the man was hurt while cutting a tree with a chainsaw — it appears he was struck with part of the tree. First responders said he may have been cleaning up storm debris at the time of the accident. See the story on Page 3 for details.

The man’s identity was not released, so his condition remains unknown.

Falling trees were a hazard and a fright for many across the South End. A large evergreen fell on Pirate Lane in Freeland, toppling toward a home and dragging down power lines along the way, and on the east side several fell on Sanna Wind Way off East Saratoga Road; one about 15 feet from Arlene Crouch’s front door.

“I was at the window when it went down,” she said. “But I wasn’t scared because it was going the other way.”

“I’ve survived for 80 years, so I wasn’t scared of a little tree going down.”

The tree fell onto East Saratoga Road, taking out utility lines. Another equally large tree fell parallel to the street nearby, and another smaller tree onto a house at the end of the neighborhood; damage was minimal.

Despite the mess, and being without power, Crouch said they weren’t making a big deal of it.

“We’re not bugging anyone though, we know how it goes,” she said. “We’re pioneers.”

Reports of fallen trees, close encounters and access problems spanned the South End. South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District reported more than 40 came down on park property and were either blocking trails or a hazard to walkers. Island County Public Works officials estimated they cleared as many as ?????? from rural roads.

School was canceled Wednesday and Thursday because of the power outage across South Whidbey, but resumed Friday. When the South Whidbey School District announced its decision, other children’s programs such as day care, theater groups and afterschool hangouts like The HUB were also closed.

Langley was without power early Tuesday afternoon, but city limits saw most power restored Thursday morning.

At the Langley Middle School campus Tuesday, students getting out of afterschool activities ran around the lawn, letting the breeze flap and snap their hooded sweatshirts and athletic shorts. As the trees began to creak, groan and sway, their excitement seemed to give way to a modicum of fear, as they moved farther away from a potential crash.

Langley Mayor Fred McCarthy said most power was restored by 5:48 a.m. Thursday, but that it had not reached every home in the city as Puget Sound Energy focused on core areas with the most customers.

Throughout town, tree limbs had crashed down onto homes, roads, power lines and cars. A few homes outside city limits along Edgecliff Drive and Wilkinson Road were damaged by whole tree trunks falling onto the houses. One home just off Wilkinson Road and Douglas Street had a tree fall, but as its roots were pulled up it ruptured a water line, spilling out onto the property and flooding a shed.

“This was one heck of a storm,” McCarthy said.

The mayor and staff department heads discussed potentially implementing the city’s emergency preparedness plan, which includes a provision for opening an emergency warming center in town. The designated building is the Island Church of Whidbey on Sixth Street and Anthes Avenue because of its size and the installation of a generator. They did not open the warming center.

Clinton’s commercial core was without power until Thursday morning.

On Tuesday when the storm hit, South Whidbey Fire/EMS responded to 64 calls between 3:30 and 8:30 p.m., according to a news release from the district.

Whidbey Telecom’s WiFire Coffee Bar opened its doors as a hub for electricity and a place to stay warm.

The building has a 400-kilowatt generator and 1,000 megabits per second in wifi, people were able to buy coffee and food while also working or enjoying free time with electricity.

The conference room was also opened, adding additional space.

“We’re just really happy to have people feel this a center place in town that they can come and have a refuge in the middle of a storm,” said George Henney, co-CEO of Whidbey Telecom.