Bird causes Sunday power outage

SANDPOINT — Sunday's power outage was for the birds — literally.

About 7,508 Avista Utilities customers lost power just before 1 p.m. on Sunday, which affected homes and businesses in the Sandpoint and Sagle area, David Vowels, Avista communications manager told the Daily Bee.

The unplanned outage was caused by a bird entering the substation in the area, Vowels said.

"Animals can make contact with electrical equipment, including getting into local substations, thereby causing power outages, and that was the case here," he said.

Avista crews were notified and quickly responded to repair the damaged equipment.

Due to redundancies we have built into our electric system, Vowels said Avista crews were able to reroute power, restoring service to some customers soon after the event occurred. Power was restored to all impacted customers just after midnight.

To report an outage please call 800-227-9187 or visit myavista.com. Customers can also download Avista's outage app on the App Store or Google Play.