Crews flip on power in area

SANDPOINT — Only a few Northern Lights customers were without power Monday.

About 10,000 NLI customers were without power after a wind storm knocked out power in its service areas in Idaho and Montana. More than 1 million people were without power in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

"NLI crews and staff continued to work long hours until power was restored to all areas NLI services," said communications director Elissa Glassman. The company restored powered to some 400 remaining customers without power at about 3 a.m. Monday.

Crews were still working on a few scattered individual outages Monday, she said.

Major cause of damage was due to high wind gusts that caused trees to topple over onto power lines.

Avista Utilities reported about 440 people were without power in Coeur d'Alene, areas of the Panhandle, and the Spokane and Colville area, but they were expected to have electricity restored by Monday evening.

People are reminded that Northern Lights answers its telephone lines 24-hours a day during severe winter storms. If you get a busy signal, keep calling.

If you see trees on power lines or downed power lines, call local authorities or Northern Lights, 263-5141, or 800-326-9594. Do not cut trees on power lines because the lines might be energized.