Wind knocks out power for nearly 100K; dozens of line crews working to restore electricity

Nearly 100,000 electric customers were without power Wednesday morning as a severe windstorm pushed through the Inland Northwest.

After steady increases in outages since 4:30 a.m. when about 1,000 customers were out, Inland Northwest utilities were starting to restore power in some places.

The worst of the windstorm passed through the Spokane area as of 7:30 a.m. and was headed into western Montana, said National Weather Service meteorologist Daniel Butler. The region could still see wind gusts as high as 55 mph throughout the morning before the wind dies down to peaks of around 20 mph by the evening. 

Avista spokesman David Vowels said work crews were out assessing damage.

The company warned it could take several days to fully assess damage and restore power to every customer. Avista has dispatched 45 line crews, each consisting of four linemen. Another six contact line crews and 40 vegetation management crews are working their way through the region.

“All available crews and resources are dedicated to assessing damage and restoring power,” said Paul Good, Avista’s director of operations. “We will share estimated restoration times as soon as assessments are complete. We appreciate our customers’ patience and assure you we are working around the clock until everyone is restored.”

Avista is prioritizing restoring service to critical infrastructure such as transmission lines and substations, and facilities including hospitals.

The company then works tops to bottom, making repairs along distribution feeder lines that serve a large number of customers before working all the way down to any remaining individual issues.

Spokane International Airport measured a gust of 75 mph, which would be a new record high if the preliminary reading stands up to verification. The official record of 71 mph was recorded in 2021 and 2015.

Felts Field in east Spokane recorded a gust of 67 mph.

Spokane Fire spokesman Justin De Ruyter said the agency spent the morning responding to a number of calls all around the city, predominantly involving downed trees and power lines. He’s expecting more calls as the region wakes up and daylight provides a better picture of the damage.

“It’s definitely got a little busy in the last hour, probably, but nothing catastrophic,” De Ruyter said.

De Ruyter said Spokane residents should use their best judgement in placing their first call to report a downed tree or power line. If the latter poses an imminent risk, call 911. Other power line issues, such as a tree leaning on a line, can be reported to Avista at (800) 227-9187. Trees blocking city roadways can be reported by dialing 311, he said.

“Call if in doubt, but we don’t want to overload our 911 services either, for something that’s not really a hazard to the general population,” he said.

The city of Spokane reported on social media that four arterials were blocked by trees: Bernard Street between 22nd and 26th avenues, Cowley Street at Eighth Avenue, Boone Avenue at Cowley and Green Street at Marshall Avenue.

Greene St. at Marshall Ave. lane closure

Power outages

• 67,700 Avista Utilies customers as of 10 a.m. That’s down from 77,400 at 7:55 a.m.

• 13,100 Inland Power customers as of 10 a.m. That’s down from 14,400 at 8:15 a.m. Inland’s outages account for nearly 30% of utility’s customers.

• 8,500 Northern Lights customers in Bonner County as well as 2,100 in Boundary County as of 10 a.m. Well over half of the utility’s customers were without power.

• 7,300 Kootenai Electric Cooperative customers as of 10 a.m.

• 1,700 Pend Oreille Public Utility District customers as of 10 a.m. That’s down from 2,500 at 9:30 a.m.

Palouse

Equipment at Lewiston and Moscow-Pullman airports picked up the highest wind gusts in the region, at 84 and 81 mph, respectively. 

Two semitrucks blew over on U.S. 195 Highway 195 near Colton, the Washington State Patrol reported on social media.

Trees are down on more than a dozen Pullman streets, and there are a number of downed power lines in the town, according to a post by the municipality on social media. Pullman officials are asking residents to use extreme caution if they come across a downed line, to call 911 and report the issue to Avista.

The windstorm also knocked out two stoplights at the intersection of Spring and Main streets. Both Pullman School District and Washington State University have announced delayed starts by two hours Tuesday morning.