Bonners Ferry Local Guide including all of Boundary County Idaho

Windstorm makes a mess in region

Saturday, December 16, 2006; DB

A windstorm which roared through North Idaho and eastern Washington late Thursday made a mess of area utility systems, knocking out power to almost 60,000 people around the region. "As soon as we got some on, others went back off," said Elissa Glassman, communications director for Northern Lights, Inc., which reported power outages to about 8,000 customers in North Idaho and western Montana. Avista Utilities spokesperson Debbie Simock said the storm knocked out service to more than 50,000 customers in the Spokane area, and Kootenai and Bonner counties, and caused extensive damage to the utility's infrastructure. "Our system suffered just some extensive damage from the weather," Simock said. "The storm wasn't just pulling down lines but pulling over poles. It made just a mess of our system." - Full Story