Power is officially restored for all Avista customers after Wednesday’s windstorm

Six days since a record-breaking windstorm tore through the region, power has been restored in all homes and businesses that were affected, according to a news release from Avista Utilities.

All told, over 80,000 Avista customers were without power for varying lengths of time since Wednesday. It took some 500 individuals six days to fully restore power across the region impacted by the storm, according to a news release from Avista.

The windstorm, of which the National Weather Service measured gusts of 75 mph at the Spokane International Airport, set records for the fastest regional gusts not during a thunderstorm. The winds toppled trees, with some of them taking out power lines and utility poles in their wake.

Avista crews worked “around the clock” to restore power, the release said.

“Remote and hard-to-access locations posed the greatest challenges,” the release said, “with rugged terrain, downed poles, fallen trees and storm debris slowing progress.”