Thunderstorm turns out the lights

NEWPORT — The Pend Oreille River Valley endured a severe thunderstorm last Thursday evening, May 28, leaving thousands of residents in Washington and Idaho without power. The storm brought numerous lightning strikes and heavy rain, with wind gusts reaching up to 70 miles per hour in some places, according to the National Weather Service.

In the aftermath, approximately 17,000 customers were without power in the Inland Northwest, according to Northern Lights and Avista officials. According to the Pend Oreille Public Utility District, approximately 1,200 customers were without power, with around 15–20 customers without power for more than 24 hours.

“All available crews are currently working to restore service as quickly and safely as possible,” said Joe Hathaway, PUD public information officer, in an email sent to media on May 29. “The primary issue affecting restoration is a downed transmission line in the Blueslide area. That line must be repaired before power can be fully restored to several other affected areas. As a result, many outages in parts of the county are expected to continue throughout the day.”

Northern Lights continued to work towards restoring power around Priest Lake and Bonners Ferry, with over 3,300 remaining without power Saturday morning, May 30.