Storm downs trees, knocks out power throughout region

Strong thunderstorms which moved through North Idaho Wednesday afternoon produced numerous downed trees and power outages.

Sgt. Ward Crawford with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office reported a high volume of calls for downed trees, blocked roadways and compromised power lines between 4:30 and 6 p.m.

As of 8 p.m., only one minor injury was reported, the result of a tree falling onto an RV at the Silverwood RV Park, just east of the theme park, Crawford reported.

Both Avista and Kootenai Electric Cooperative officials reported thousands of customers without power Wednesday evening.

There were 726 Coeur d’Alene-area Avista customers without power Wednesday evening, with most of those in an area bordered by Kathleen and Appleway avenues, Government Way and 15th Street. Smaller outages were reported in Hayden Lake, Dalton Gardens and Post Falls.

Another hard-hit area for Avista customers was the west end of the Silver Valley, with about 2,100 customers without power in the Kellogg and Pinehurst areas.

At 9:30 p.m., KEC officials reported about 5,800 members without power throughout its service territory, with most of those in the northern portion of Kootenai County, north of Hayden.

“All crews have been dispatched and contracted crews have been called in to assist in restoring power. There is no estimated restoration time for any of the outages,” KEC stated on its website. “Unfortunately due to the severe damage to our lines, the majority of those affected will be without power through the night.

“Multiple trees have fallen into our lines and some of the poles will need to be replaced. Our crews will continue to work as quickly and safely as possible throughout the night to clear the lines and restore power.”