Updated at 5:15 pm:
One resident of Fernan, Idaho was killed this morning when a tree fell into his house. Kootenai County Sheriff’s officials say the 55-year-old man was sleeping in his bed. Others in the house were uninjured.
In an afternoon press conference, Avista Vice President of Energy Delivery Josh DiLuciano said that high winds were keeping some crews "out of the air"—that is, they couldn't go up in cherry pickers to the top of power lines. He said they expected winds to die down enough by 4 pm to get those crews off the ground.
Avista CEO and president Heather Rosentrater said the Pullman-Moscow area recorded wind gusts of at least 80 miles per hour. That puts this storm on the same level as the historic wind storm in January 2021.
According to Avista's power outage map, the number of outages has declined to 992, and affected customers number 41,877.
An Avista transmission line that feeds Kootenai Electric Cooperative’s distribution system on the eastern side of Lake Coeur d’Alene is down.
There’s currently no timeline for when it will be fixed. KEC says people near Plummer and Harrison should be prepared to be without power for multiple days.
Avista stressed that downed power lines might still be energized—crews have special training to work with them, but curious neighbors should watch at a distance.
Updated at 12:30 pm:
Current outage numbers:
Avista: about a thousand outages, 56,000 customers without power
Inland Power: about 9,100 customers with no power
Kootenai Electric: about 8,000 customers without power
Northern Lights: 133 outages, 11,730 customers with no power
Also, North Idaho College and the University of Idaho campus in Coeur d'Alene will close for the day. They had earlier announced 1 pm openings.
Updated at 10 am:
The Inland Northwest is beginning the damage assessment and recovery from the overnight windstorm that left more than 100,000 people without power.
At the peak of the storm, Avista had about 75,000 people without power. As of 10 am, that number was 65,000. Inland Power had more 14,000 at the peak; the number now is at about 13,000. In North Idaho, Kootenai Electric reports about 7,300 customers without power. Northern Lights reports 14,000 people without power.
Several school districts in north Idaho closed operations for the day, including Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Lakeland and Lake Pend Oreille. The Liberty School District in eastern Washington is also closed. Many in eastern Washington are opened at 10, including Spokane, Mead and Central Valley. Others opening two hours late: West Valley, Cheney, Medical Lake, Deer Park and Chewelah.
Washington State University’s Spokane campus also opened at 10. North Idaho College and the University of Idaho campus in Coeur d’Alene will open at 1.
The National Weather Service reports winds reached 75 miles an hour this morning at Spokane International Airport. The highest reported gust was at Alder Ridge, near Leavenworth, at 99 miles an hour. Lewiston reported a gust of 84 miles an hour, 81 at the Pullman-Moscow Airport. Felts Field recorded gusts up to 67 miles an hour, 66 at the Coeur d’Alene Airport.
The high wind warning issued by the National Weather Service is scheduled to continue until 4 this afternoon, though it appears the worst is behind us. Authorities are warning people to drive cautiously today in case they encounter downed trees or power lines. If you do see a downed line, you’re urged to stay at least 30 feet away in case it’s a live wire.
Today is expected to be a dry day, with highs in the 40s and low 50s and winds slowly diminishing. A new band of clouds is expected overnight, bringing precipitation tomorrow, including likely snow in the mountains. Highs in the lower elevations will be in the 40s.
As of 8:20 am:
Avista reports 882 active outages and 74,000 customers without power.
Inland Power reports 128 outages and 14,400 customers without power.
Kootenai Electric reports 3,400 people without power.
Northern Lights reports 190 outages and 24,000 people without power.
School district closures/delays:
Closed today: Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Lakeland, Lake Pend Oreille, Liberty
Opening two hours late: Spokane, Central Valley, West Valley, Cheney, Medical Lake, Mead, Deer Park, Chewelah
