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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Two dead as winds topple trees across the region; blackouts everywhere leave 200,000 people without power

From staff reports

UPDATE 8:25 p.m.: The Cheney, Central Valley, Nine Mile Falls and Liberty school districts will start school two hours late on Wednesday. Central Valley has also canceled morning kindergarten and elementary school conferences.

UPDATE 8:05 p.m.: Avista and two other utilities in the region are now reporting that outages are affecting 201,000 customers.

Strong wind gusts slowly subsiding. They are now in the mid-40 mph range at Fairchild Air Force Base. Felts Field and Spokane airport currently not reporting due to malfunctions.

UPDATE 7:35P.M.: The Washington State Patrol said a woman died after a tree fell on her car on state Highway 904 about five miles east of Cheney. Her death is the second fatality from Tuesday’s storm.

UPDATE 7:30 p.m.: The Tuesday afternoon storm set a wind record for a cold front storm at 71 mph at the Spokane airport. The previous record wind was 67 mph on Jan. 1, 1972.

However, a thunderstorm outflow wind on June 21, 2995 hit 77 mph, setting the record in Spokane for highest wind.

The winds were so powerful they knocked out wind sensors at several locations, including the Spokane airport, which is the official measuring station for Spokane.

Winds are starting to drop off at 7:30 p.m.

Power outages peaked at 186,600 customers at 7:20 p.m. The latest reports from Avista and two other utilities shows 180,900 customers in the dark.

Interstate 90 at George was closed again Tuesday night.

UPDATE 7:15 P.M.: Mt. Spokane Park Drive is closed east of Highway 2 due to multiple downed trees and power lines.

UPDATE 6:55 P.M.: Outage total climbs to 171,500 customers of Avista and two other utilities in the region.

Interstate 90 has reopened at George following dust storm.

UPDATE 6:45 P.M.: Whitworth University has canceled all classes and activities until 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Meal service for students will resume Wednesday morning. Only essential employees will report to work.

UPDATE 6:44 P.M.: Kevin Morrison, spokesman for Spokane Public Schools, said Tuesday night district officials were assessing damage and would make a call on whether to hold classes Wednesday “as soon as we can.”

“But it could be as late as five o’clock tomorrow morning,” he said.

UPDATE 6:35 P.M.: Avista now says that Tuesday’s storm is the largest in the utility company’s history with 123,900 of its customers without power.

Adding in Inland Power & Light Co. and Kootenai Electric Cooperative, the outage number now totals 154,600 customers.

This storm far surpasses the November 1996 Ice Storm that laid waste to much of Spokane. That storm was caused by an extended period of freezing rain that weighed heavily on trees and lines and put out power to 100,000 customers at its peak.

Debbie Simock, spokeswoman for Avista, said it was not clear Tuesday evening how long it will take to fully restore power. Some of the larger transmission lines were put out. Repairs to those could yield relatively quick power restoration for some customers.

She said improvements in Avista’s organizational and dispatching structures should help speed repairs.

Contractor crews are expected to come to Spokane to help in the restorations. In addition, contractor crews currently working on other projects will be shift to repairs. Also, crews in locations with little damage may be sent to areas with larger problems.

“It looks like Spokane and Kootenai counties were right in the bullseye,” Simock said.

However, 4,000 Avista customers in Stevens County also lost power.

UPDATE 6:17 P.M.: Avista and two other utilities now reporting 148,100 outages in the Spokane region and North Idaho.

UPDATE 6:10 p.m.: National Weather Service is now operating on backup power at its office on Rambo Road northwest of Airway Heights.

Deer Park saw a wind gust of 63 mph in the past hour. Gusts at Spokane International Airport backed off to 46 mph out of the west-southwest.

UPDATE 5:45 p.m.: A woman in her 50s was hit and killed by a tree in the 1500 block of West 14th Avenue around 3:30 p.m. today. Paramedics were unable to revive the woman when they arrived, according to a Spokane Police Department press release. Her identity will be released later by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office.

UPDATE 5:35 p.m.: Power outage total climbs to 128,800 customers, including North Idaho.

Spokane Transit Authority buses are running, but some routes are on detours because of downed trees. STA website is back up and running following a crash due to heavy traffic. People going home early has helped the system keep moving. Go to spokanetransit.com to find any potential detours.

UPDATE 5:28 p.m.: Police confirm that a woman has died from a falling tree near 14th Avenue.

UPDATE 5:11 p.m.: There are at least 114,000 people without power across the Spokane region and North Idaho.

All outgoing flights have been canceled at Spokane International Airport.

UPDATE 4:54 P.M.: Wind gust of 71 mph hits Spokane International Airport.

Power outages in North Idaho affecting about 7,000 customers of Avista and Kootenai Electric Cooperative.

WSDOT reporting that U.S. Highway 395 is closed from Interstate 90 to U.S. Highway 26 due to blowing dust.

Cold front now approaching Spokane.

UPDATE: 4:45 p.m.: The roof at Glyph Language Services, which is housed at 125 S. Wall St., collapsed shortly after 4 p.m.

Four employees were inside at the time. All made it out of the building without injuries.

“All of a sudden, there was a big gust, then boom,” said employee Darryl Burgess.

Multiple police cars and fire engines were on scene. Neighboring restaurant Europa closed as a result of the collapse.

UPDATE 4:40 p.m.: Several flights have been cancelled or delayed at Spokane International Airport.

UPDATE 4:36 p.m.: Power outages now at 71,300 in Avista service area. Also, the Greater Spokane Department of Emergency Management is advising people to shelter in place until storm eases.

Spokane Valley Mall is closing.

UPDATE 4:25 p.m.: Avista reports that power outages are affecting 61, 200 customers at 4:25 p.m.

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High winds near hurricane strength are causing widespread power outages and other damage on Tuesday evening as a powerful Pacific storm moves over the Inland Northwest.

So much damage was occurring that authorities sent out an alert asking residents to call 911 only for life-threatening emergencies.

Earlier, emergency responders called on employers and school officials to let employees and students go home early for safety reasons, and many locations followed the request.

The National Weather Service posted high wind warnings for the region with gusts of 70 mph possible in lower elevations and stronger gusts in the mountains.

The area from Ritzville to Spokane appears to be in the bullseye of the wind storm with gusts up to 68 mph possible.

Coeur d’Alene is forecasted to see 55 mph gusts.

Spokane International Airport measured a 61 mph wind gust after 2 p.m. Forecasters said a 77 mph gust was reported at Spangle. The weather service office on Rambo Road had a 68 mph gust with the strongest part of the storm yet to arrive.

As the heavy gusts hit, power outages became widespread with 605 reported outages affecting 26,000 customers by about 3:40 p.m.

Within minutes, the outage number went up to 39,850 customers in the dark and then to 45,500 just after 4 p.m.

The increase in outages coincided with a a large number of downed trees, which were blocking roads and knocking out power.

Roofs were blown off at SpokAnimal on North Napa Street and at 125 S. Wall St.

In one dramatic event this afternoon, a tree fell on 17th Avenue just outside of Franklin Elementary School a short time before classes ended.

Interstate 90 was closed from George to Vantage due to high winds, according to the Washington State Patrol. The Four Lakes exit to Cheney was closed late in the afternoon.

Also, U.S. Highway 395 was closed south of Connell.

The Keller Ferry on state Highway 21 was halted.

The high winds sent a cloud of dust into the city late this afternoon.

South to southwest winds Tuesday morning were expected to turn and come from the west to northwest as the cold front crosses the region. The strongest winds were due to arrive at 4 p.m. and continue until about 7 p.m. before starting to taper down.

“Very strong winds with speeds of historic levels are forecast for this afternoon and evening,” according to a forecast discussion on the website of the weather service in Spokane.

Power was cut to the traffic light at 16th Avenue and state Highway 27, the Spokane Sheriff’s Office reported in the afternoon.

Sprague Avenue between University and Raymond roads was closed at University City Mall due to a downed power line. The mall was without power.

Spokane Valley fire administrative offices on Wilbur Road was forced onto emergency power by an on-site generator.

Whitworth University had a pine tree fall Tuesday morning. No injuries occurred, but classes and activities closed early and non-essential employees were sent home, said Nancy Hines, communications director at Whitworth.

Eastern Washington University, WSU Spokane and Spokane community colleges cancelled classes Tuesday afternoon.

The evening basketball game against Seattle University was postponed until 12:30 p.m. after the visiting team was unable to get to Spokane, apparently because of the I-90 closure.

Gonzaga University closed classes and sent home employees. The on-campus food service was kept open. Students were asked to stay in their rooms otherwise.

Spokane and Spokane County public libraries closed early.

Spokane County offices, including courts, were scheduled to close at 3 p.m. because of the weather, said Martha Lou Wheatley-Billeter, spokeswoman for the county.

Kim Papich, spokeswoman for the Spokane Regional Health District, said authorities are implementing federal emergency response standards.

Spokane Public Schools cancelled all after-school activities except Express care, said schools spokesman Kevin Morrison.

Mead schools also closed after-school activities.

West Valley schools are closing early, and they have asked parents to pick up children early.

Cheney, Nine Mile Falls and East Valley schools cancelled after-school activities.

Saint George’s School and Gonzaga Prep took the same action.

In Central Valley, parents are asked to pick up kids who normally walk to school. Classes will get out at the normal time, but after-school activities were cancelled.

STCU said it would close its credit union branches at 3 p.m.

The fact that the highest winds will arrive during the evening commute adds to the potential risks.

Emergency response agencies are concerned about downed trees and breaking branches taking down live power lines. High profile vehicles and trailers may be susceptible to being blown over, forecasters said.

Blowing objects might also create hazards in roadways.

Vehicles could be crushed by falling trees.

Authorities met Tuesday morning to talk about contingency plans for responding to the storm.

Papich said they are making plans for dispatching crews to clear downed trees.

Winds should ease after 9 p.m. following passage of the cold front that will drive the high winds. The downslope terrain on the east side of the Cascades will help accelerate the winds by creating a kind of vacuum and allowing air pressure at the surface to fall markedly.

The storm arrived in the offshore waters and coastal areas on Monday when satellite images showed a convergence of warm and cold fronts around a pair of deep low pressure centers. That system has been moving across the Pacific Northwest today.

Andy Brown, the weather warning coordinator for the weather service in Spokane, said meteorologists have a high degree of confidence in the current forecast.

“This is a very strong wind event,” he said.

It may rank as one of the top five windstorms on record in Spokane.

Papich advised residents to have flashlights with good batteries in case the power goes out. She said authorities are asking people to stay indoors during the height of the storm.

The overnight low in the early hours of Wednesday is forecast to reach 33 degrees. Even without power, most residents should be able to pass the night without leaving.

Warming centers are being activated in Spokane for emergency shelter.

Spokane city officials said street crews would deploy generators to busy intersections in the event power outages cut traffic signals.

Drivers must treat an intersection with a disabled light the same as they would a four-way stop.

Authorities are asking family and friends to check on elderly and disabled persons after the high winds subside.

Use of portable heaters that use propane gas or other fuel is discouraged because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

An autumn storm in October 1950 brought a peak wind of 65 mph.

Snow was reported across the region earlier on Tuesday morning. Deer Lake in Stevens County had between 3 and 4 inches.

To report downed power lines or if your power is out, call Avista at 1-800-227-9187 Inland Power (877) 668-8243. Greater Spokane Emergency Management’s information page http://www.spokanecounty.org/emergencymgmt/ will be updated as necessary.