The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
59°F
Current Conditions
Broken clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Avista cut power to much of downtown Spokane for 10 minutes due to trespasser

Looking west above downtown Spokane, the railroad tracks of the BNSF railroad can be seen angling from the lower right, past the old Northern Pacific Depot and continuing west toward Seattle. At far left, Interstate 90, completed in the late 1960s, represents Americans’ move away from rail travel. Around 1970, the NP merged with Great Northern and other lines to become Burlington Northern, which is now BNSF. Photo is from June 4, 2018. Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
From staff reports

Power to sections of downtown Spokane was turned off at around noon Monday after police say a man climbed through a street grate and would not come back out.

Spokane Police Department spokesman John O’Brien said a witness flagged down an officer after they saw Casey D. Thompson, 22, in a street grate. He said police tried to negotiate with Thompson, but he did not respond to commands. Officers could not safely remove Thompson from the underground area due to the high-voltage equipment and confined space. Avista Utilities shut down power from Post to Division streets and Riverside to Third avenues so officers could remove him.

He said Thompson was not injured and was booked into the Spokane County Jail for on a charge of malicious mischief. Power was restored to the downtown area after about 10 minutes.