SPOKANE, WA — Avista crews continue working to restore power across parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho after a windstorm earlier this week damaged power lines and infrastructure.

According to Avista, about 61,000 customers were initially affected by outages caused by Wednesday’s storm. As of 10 a.m. Friday, roughly 8,495 customers remained without power, while about 86% of customers have had service restored.

Utility officials say crews have been working around the clock and are being assisted by contract workers as restoration efforts continue. More than 47 Avista line crews, 14 contract crews, and 16 vegetation management crews are currently responding to outages.

The windstorm brought down trees and debris that damaged power poles and lines across the region. Crews have been patrolling hundreds of miles of power lines by vehicle, foot, helicopter and drone to assess damage and begin repairs.

Heavy snowfall following the storm has made restoration more difficult in some areas. Avista says replacing a single power pole can take up to eight hours, and some customers in parts of the region may remain without power through the weekend.

Estimated Restoration Times

Customers are urged to stay away from downed power lines and treat all lines as if they are energized. Downed lines should be reported to 911 and Avista at 800-227-9187.

Outage updates and reporting tools are available through Avista’s outage map or at myavista.com/outage.