'Unprecedented'

COEUR d’ALENE — Randee Gagnon is from Louisiana, where heat and humidity reign each summer, so the third-straight day of triple digits in Coeur d’Alene wasn’t anything her family couldn’t handle.

Yet, even she had to shake her head in surprise at the record-setting heat wave that has settled over the area since they arrived this week.

“It’s really unbelievable,” she said as she and her husband watched daughter Violet getting soaked at the splash pad at McEuen Park.

Coeur d’Alene climatologist Cliff Harris said it hit 106 degrees Wednesday, breaking the mark for June 30 of 100 degrees set in 1939, and just short of Tuesday’s new June high of 107 degrees.

“We’ve been hotter than Las Vegas these last days,” he said.

Harris said the last three days of June were the hottest on record. Mix in that it rained only .49 inches for all of June (average is 1.93 inches of rain), you’ve got the fourth-driest June on record and a drought that’s creating dangerous forest fire conditions, as well as suffocating heat that's threatening the health of young, old and pets.

"This event will likely be one of the most extreme and prolonged heat waves in the recorded history of the Inland Northwest," according to the National Weather Service. "Unprecedented heat will not only threaten the health of residents in the Inland Northwest but will make our region increasingly vulnerable to wildfires and intensify the impacts of our ongoing drought."

The Coeur d'Alene Interagency Dispatch Center said an "excessive heat warning" remains in effect until Sunday evening." It called conditions "very hot, dry and unstable."

At the same time, cities are calling on citizens to conserve water and electricity.

“There’s no rain in sight,” Harris said.

The cause is a high-pressure ridge, a dome of sorts, that settled over the area.

“We’re left high and dry,” Harris said.

That didn’t keep Tyler McCullough from setting up Squatch Dogs on Fifth Street in the shade between Lakeside and Sherman for the farmer’s market on Wednesday afternoon, though the heat did keep more than half the usual number of vendors away.

He said it was important to be there and serve up his gourmet hot dogs.

“You gotta do what you gotta do. That’s what it comes down to,” he said.

Sure, it’s hot, sweaty and can be miserable, McCullough added, “but it’s not about me. At this point, it’s about making the customers happy.”

Avista reported that the strain on its electric system that led to outages in Spokane and and Lewiston has been reduced since Monday due to ongoing grid modifications, shifting of electric load and customer conservation of electricity despite continued record-breaking heat and all-time high electricity usage.

“Given this, the number of customers in the greater Spokane area and Lewiston expected to be impacted by focused, protective outages on Wednesday is approximately 5,800, down from 22,000 expected on Tuesday,” a press release said. “These outages continue to be a protective measure intended to minimize broader customer impact and prevent extensive damage to the system that could result in prolonged outages.

Avista continues to have adequate energy supply available to serve customers. It also continues to encourage customers to conserve electricity through Friday especially afternoon to early evening.

Kootenai Electric Cooperative reported two small outages Wednesday affecting 23 members. One was caused by a car hitting a pole and the other was under investigation.

Conditions should improve the rest of the week with highs in the 90s and lows in the 60s.

Harris said some clouds should roll into the area next week, but mostly over the mountains.

"Not over us," he said.