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

Hundreds in the Inland Northwest without power after Monday evening thunderstorm

During a ran delay in the fifth inning a storm passed over Avista Stadium as the sun set in the west. This is a view from catwalk to the press box. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)

Hundreds of people in the Inland Northwest remained without power Tuesday after a thunderstorm whipped through the area Monday evening with high winds and heavy rain.

According to an Avista Utilities outage map, about 504 customers in Spokane County and 12 in Kootenai County have been without power since about 7 p.m. Monday. The majority of Avista’s outages in Spokane County are just north of Nine Miles Falls along state Route 291. Crews estimated power could be restored sometime between 9:15 a.m. and 10 a.m.

In northern Spokane County near Milan, Inland Power and Light reported about 750 outages to customers along Milan Elk Road. Jennifer Lutz, Inland’s chief communications officer, said crews have been working since about 10 p.m. Monday to remove downed trees from power lines.

She estimated power could be restored by 9:30 a.m.

“It’s taking longer than they anticipated to get those trees removed,” she said. “But they’re out there and they’re working on it, so it should be fairly quickly.”

Lightning strikes also created several fires in Chelan and Douglas counties, including the Spartan fire, which had burned 4,500 acres by 8 p.m. Monday, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Several dozen homes were under evacuation orders, with about 80 structures threatened, said Holly Krake, the public information officer for the Spartan fire.

Krake said an interagency incident management team would be taking over the fire, which started around the Alcoa/Malaga area southeast of Wenatchee Monday evening.

No structures have been damaged and there are no reported injuries, Krake said.

This story is developing and will be updated.