Avista Utilities is preparing for a windstorm forecast to bring strong winds beginning early Tuesday night through Wednesday morning across its Washington and Idaho service area, including the Palouse region.
Saturated soil from recent rain, combined with strong winds, increases the likelihood of outages caused by falling trees and limbs bringing down power lines.
Avista crews are ready with fueled fleet vehicles, warehouse supplies are in place, and assessment teams are standing by. Wire guard teams, tree crews, and other employees are mobilized for storm-related work.
With sustained winds expected, estimated restoration times are not likely to be available until the storm has passed and Avista completes damage assessments, which may take 24 hours or more.
Customers can view current outage numbers on the outage map and report outages here. Outage updates will also be available on Avista’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
During an outage, Avista recommends turning off appliances, unplugging electronic equipment, leaving a light or radio on as an alert when power returns, and turning on front porch lights to help crews identify which homes have power.