Power Outage in Old Town
On March 12, 2026, nearly 2,000 residents and businesses in Old Town, Spokane County, found themselves without power after an outage was reported just after 10 a.m. The outage is part of a larger issue affecting the region, with Avista Utilities reporting over 50,000 customers without power across Eastern Washington and North Idaho.
The outages were attributed to severe weather conditions, with winds reaching up to 68 mph in Spokane County. This extreme weather has caused significant disruptions, prompting local authorities to issue safety advisories.
By around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, more than 3,000 customers were already in the dark, and the situation continued to escalate overnight. As of 6:30 a.m. Thursday, King County reported 33,993 customers without power, highlighting the widespread impact of the storm.
Power restoration efforts began overnight, and by 4 a.m., the number of customers without power had dropped to approximately 90,000. Dominion Energy’s online outage map indicated that 1,998 customers were specifically affected in Old Town, with the cause of the outage still pending investigation.
Restoration efforts are ongoing, with estimates suggesting that power could be restored between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. today. Local officials have advised drivers to treat intersections with traffic signal outages as four-way stops to ensure safety on the roads.
Steven Van Horn, a spokesperson for Avista Utilities, commented, “It’s about in-line with what we were expecting,” reflecting the utility’s preparedness for the storm’s impact.
The situation remains fluid as crews work diligently to restore power and assess the damage. Residents are encouraged to stay updated through the entergy outage map and local news sources.
As the community grapples with these outages, the importance of reliable power supply and emergency preparedness has never been clearer. The events of this week serve as a reminder of the potential for severe weather to disrupt daily life and the need for effective response strategies.
Details remain unconfirmed regarding the full extent of the damage and the timeline for complete restoration of power across the affected areas.
