Power to the people

COEUR d'ALENE — Avista Utilities said Monday it has restored power to customers in Idaho and Washington that lost it after Friday's snowstorm.

The majority of outages were caused by wet snow that weighed heavily on branches causing trees and tree limbs to come into contact with power lines.

Avista line and tree crews worked around the clock as quickly and safely as possible until everyone’s power was restored. At the peak of the storm about 22,000 customers were without power. As of Sunday evening all customers who were impacted by Friday's snow storm were fully restored.

“We want to thank our customers for their patience and support as we understand how challenging it can be to go without power,” said Dennis Vermillion, Avista president and CEO. “We are extremely proud of our employees and contract crews and the extraordinary efforts they put into restoring service to our customers under very cold conditions.”

A record 7 inches of snow fell in Coeur d'Alene Friday.