Power restored to almost all after Labor Day windstorm
CRAIG NORTHRUP/Press Monday's windstorm blew down trees and tree branches across the Inland Northwest, including on Cornwall Street in Coeur d'Alene. Power outage struck swaths of neighborhoods across North Idaho, but most residents who lost electricity saw it restored by the end of Tuesday.
Utility crews from Avista and Kootenai Electric Cooperative had restored power to almost all of their customers by press time Tuesday evening after fierce winds Monday knocked down trees and cut power lines to residents across Kootenai County.
Wind gusts reaching 60 mph toppled trees and broke branches, severing lines and cutting power to more than 11,000 Kootenai Electric customers. But by the end of the day Tuesday, those numbers were rapidly approaching zero.
“Our crews have been working around the clock to get power restored,” Erika Neff, spokesperson for Kootenai Electric, said Tuesday evening. “We are currently working to restore power to less than 300 members south of Coeur d’Alene and on the west side of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Our goal is to have all power restored today.”
By 6 p.m., only 109 Kootenai Electric customers were without power, mostly between Mica Bay and Rockford Bay.
A total of 55 employees and contractors were in the field for Kootenai Electric. Avista sent similar numbers to North Idaho during and after the storm. On Monday, Avista had reported as many as 36,000 were without power in its eastern Washington and North Idaho service areas. But by Tuesday afternoon, only 27 North Idahoans under Avista’s care were without power, mostly in Bonner County.
“We want to thank our customers for their patience as we’ve worked to assess damage, restore power and provide estimated restoration times for all customers who lost power as a result of this storm,” Dennis Vermillion, Avista president and CEO, said in a statement. “We understand being without power can be difficult, particularly when so many are working and learning from home. We continue to dedicate all available resources to restoring the remaining customers.”
The power outages had threatened to cancel what was already going to be a strange first day of school for North Idaho STEM and Lakeland students. But power was restored to schools before the decision to cancel had to be made.
Neff stressed that trees in or near electric rights-of-way can become dangerous during high wind storms, saying that the best way to keep the lights on is to manage nearby trees and brush.
“Public safety and power reliability are top priorities,” the Kootenai Electric representative said. “Trees growing in the electric right-of-way or those growing in close proximity are both wildfire and reliability hazards. To keep our members and the general public safe, KEC has both the right as well as the obligation to remove or otherwise manage vegetation in our right-of-way and proximity.”