URGENT UPDATE: Thousands of Avista customers remain without power in the Quad Cities region as of Thursday evening. Following a devastating windstorm that struck on Wednesday, the utility company reported that approximately 86% of outages have been resolved, but over 2,000 customers in the Palouse and nearly 500 customers in Nez Perce and Asotin counties are still affected.
Avista is mobilizing all available crews to restore power, with a focus on northern Idaho, where some residents may experience outages until Sunday. The storm caused widespread damage throughout the Inland Northwest, affecting around 80,000 customers. Fallen trees and branches have severely damaged power lines, with Avista noting that repairing one damaged power pole can take up to eight hours.
In a recent statement, Avista emphasized,
“Once critical customers and transmission lines are restored, crews work to repair distribution feeder lines that serve larger groups of customers.”
This means some neighborhoods may remain without power even as others are restored. Crews will continue to address individual outages, so residents may see workers in their areas multiple times.
The impact of the storm has been significant, with local emergency services overwhelmed. The Whitcom 911 dispatcher reported receiving 869 emergency calls on Wednesday, including 69 for electrical hazards and 53 for traffic issues. The Moscow Fire Department alone responded to 51 service calls, despite facing a major outage in its radio dispatch system.
For those in need of warmth or connectivity, the City of Pullman has opened the Neill Public Library and the Pullman Recreation Center as temporary shelters, offering heated spaces, water, and Wi-Fi.
As restoration efforts continue, Avista is urging residents to remain patient and report any ongoing issues. Stay tuned for further updates as the situation develops.
