Some areas still do not have power restored following wind storm Wednesday

Thousand of customers both with Avista Utilities and Clearwater Power lost power Wednesday morning with the severe wind storm that blew through the area and some are still not back on.

As of 9 p.m. Saturday, Clearwater Power is showing 137 outages in the region with 2,746 customers affected.

According to Avista Utilities website they have less than five Clearwater County customers still without power as of 9 p.m. Saturday. Idaho County has 664 affected, 20 in Latah County and Lewis County has none.

Clearwater Power issued this news release Saturday morning:

"The Clearwater Power Outage Map now reflects more accurate outage information. While the Outage Map offers the best estimates for power restoration, they are estimates and are adjusted as we continue to patrol lines, assess damage and make needed repairs. Your specific time of restoration will depend on the amount of repairs needed between the substation and your home or business.

"We appreciate the patience of our 4,300 Clearwater Power members who remain without power. With so many different outages at once and such significant damage to the entire grid, crews are working across the service territory and in some instances unable to even access areas to assess damage. We know members need their power and will continue working until power is fully restored.

"We have more than doubled our line crew workforce with additional contracted and cooperative line crews. They join our cooperative linemen who continue to methodically restore power.

"Linemen, field engineers and vegetation management crews are working in the following locations Saturday:

"Please always call 208-743-1501 with safety concerns. We take calls 24/7 and it ensures your message is received, is escalated as needed and makes it to the appropriate folks.

"As we work to restore power, crews focus on danger lines and safety issues. These include downed lines across roadways, removing trees putting stress on lines and poles, and removing trees entangled with lines that are blocking critical access points. They then focus on repairing transmission lines that provide power to our substations and the most people. Transmission lines must be repaired before power can be restored locally. Currently, all Clearwater Power substations have now been energized. Substations are distribution hubs where utilities receive and send electricity. Work then begins at the substation and moves outward along the distribution lines. Distribution lines take electricity from substations to towns, neighborhoods and other small groups of members. Then work begins on service lines. Service lines connect distribution lines to transformers that serve individual homes and businesses. If one home lacks power while lights are on in the rest of the neighborhood, the issue could be with the service line. During an outage, substations and distribution lines serving the most people are prioritized before repairs to individual service lines.

"Click on the link below for more information on how power is restored.

"How is Power Restored?

"Clearwater Power members can report outages using SmartHub or by calling 208-743-1501.

"Stay Safe:

"Again, we appreciate your patience as we work to safely restore power."