Blowing in the wind

COEUR d'ALENE - Count Tom Hoard's 1990 Suburban as damaged goods from Monday's wind.

But Hoard, watching the NASCAR race at his Hayden home, thought he could wait out the 49 mile-per-hour blasts before moving his truck away from his neighbor's tree, which he had noticed swaying in the storm.

"There were two laps left in the race," Hoard said. "I wanted to watch the end."

But by the time the checkered flag was out on Hoard's television, the tree had come down across the front windshield of the car.

"There was no sense in getting dressed," he said after he heard the crash. "I figured I might as well watch the end of it now."

Wind and rain blasted North Idaho on Monday, leaving thousands of residential homes without power. Avista and Kootenai Electric Cooperative reported that falling trees, limbs and other debris knocked down power lines.

"The change to spring is a common culprit," said Jessie Wuerst, Avista spokeswoman. "It's not untypical for this time of year."

Wuerst said around 500 residents lost power due to the wind across the greater Coeur d'Alene area, including Post Falls, Spirit Lake and Hayden, where a majority of the affected customers lost power near East Shore Drive.

The 15 outages didn't hamper commercial clients, she said, and all except around 20 customers had been restored by late Monday afternoon.

"It's been a very mild, very calm year so far," she said in terms of storms knocking out lines. "We haven't had a good wind storm this year."

By 5 p.m., Kootenai Electric reported around 2,000 members were without service across Athol, Bayview, Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls and Hayden Lake.

Erika Neff, KEC spokeswoman, said crews were working around the clock to restore power as soon as possible, but couldn't estimate when they would be back up.

Wind damage aside, the rain that came with it is a welcome sign for Coeur d'Alene, said Climatologist Cliff Harris.

Coeur d'Alene saw 0.94 inches of rain between Sunday and Monday afternoons.

The precipitation brought the Lake City's total to 1.95 inches for March, and 7.05 for the year, slightly below the 7.60 inches normal amount at this point of the year.

"This was a good rain. We needed it," Harris said. "It'll take some of the drought worries away and help the lake levels come up."

The wind picked up Monday morning, with gusts reaching between 20 to 35 mph before peaking at 49 mph around 1 p.m., then tapering off by mid-afternoon, said Mary Hopkins, at the Coeur d'Alene Airport.

It was around 1 p.m. when Hoard heard the tree crash from his neighbor's yard, through two fences, and cracked the front windshield on the Suburban, dented its front fender and left scratches.

Hoard said he was waiting to talk to the neighbors before prying the car free and figuring out what to do on the car he had only owned for a couple of months, and hadn't yet insured.

Looking back, he said, he should have moved it sooner, but the race was too good to pass up.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

Avista and Kootenai Electric said residents should report downed lines immediately, and not touch them.

Information: Kootenai Electric (877) 744-1055 or Avista at (800) 227-9187, or visit www.avistautilities.com.