Winds wreak havoc on Priest River, county

SANDPOINT — It might be hyperbole to call it the storm of the century, but Monday night’s colossal winds, booming thunder claps and near-constant lighting strikes were some of the most intense in years, wreaking havoc on dozens of area homes and sparking more than six wildfires.

In Priest River alone, whole swaths the city were left battered by 60-plus mile per hour winds. In a span of three city blocks, as many as 10 homes and at least two cars were damaged by downed trees, and several homeowners were forced to temporarily seek shelter elsewhere.

Intense winds brought down a 40-foot tree onto Chanda Mittan’s backyard, crushing her fence, swimming pool and bike before landing on her neighbor’s house.

“My whole block is destroyed,” Mittan said. “I live on Jefferson, and the three main streets that got hit were Lincoln, Jefferson

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and Jackson. There’s probably six houses with trees right on them. There’s a house right up the street from me that’s just about cut in half.”

Just before 11 p.m., Johanna Johnson, who lives on Jackson Avenue, heard the winds pick up and felt her house being battered by tree branches and flying debris. In an instant, she heard a massive crash and was jarred out of bed by a large tree crashing through her roof and into her living room. Nobody was hurt, but Johnson said a large branch landed just feet from her daughter.

She said the sights and sounds of the night will be etched in her mind forever.

“It was loud,” she said. “It was the loudest noise I’ve ever heard. It was like something just consuming the house.”

When the sun finally came out Tuesday morning and Johnson was able to survey her neighborhood, she was shocked at the level of damage.

“It looked like a tornado hit outside,” she said. “It was like a war zone.”

West Pend Oreille Fire Chief Les Kokanes called the weather “nasty” and said his department responded to 18 or 19 storm-related incidents Monday night and into Tuesday morning. Three businesses inside the city’s historic Beardmore Building reported damage when a rainwater recycling unit mounted on the building’s roof was blown away.

While the winds were intense, they couldn’t match the sheer spectacle of the bone-rattling thunder and near constant lighting strikes. It didn’t break any records, but the storm produced an above-average number of strikes, according to Dave Lux of the U.S. Forest Service.

“Our lighting map showed about 3,340-some strikes, and that was just in the northern Panhandle that goes from Canada to southern Bonner County,” Lux said.

Despite the extensive lighting strikes, Lux said the storm has so far produced only four small fires, all of which have been contained. Ed Robinson of the Idaho Department of Lands said his crew found two more storm-related fires, but said more will likely turn up in the coming weeks.

“We’ll probably pick up a few fires each day for the next week or so,” he said. “They just lay low for a while. They end up in a log, smoldering, and when the weather conditions are right or the fuel conditions are right they’ll swell up and we’ll see them.”

Those who live in the path of the storm are hoping the worst is behind them, but the National Weather Service is warning that more harsh weather could be on the way. On Tuesday afternoon the service briefly put out a tornado warning for parts of western Bonner County, but downgraded to a severe thunderstorm warning soon after.

Nick Ivie of the Hagadone News Network contributed to this story.