Power outages hit areas around Potlatch-Palouse and Elk City

Approximately 2,100 residents of the Potlatch-Palouse area woke up Monday morning without power, though it was restored by 9:30 a.m.

Meanwhile, a power outage in the Elk City area of Idaho County that hit Saturday night was ongoing until at least Monday evening.

The Potlatch-Palouse outage was reported at 4:50 a.m. Monday, according to Avista Utilities spokesperson David Vowels. It was the result of “equipment failure” and Avista crews had it fixed by 9:30 a.m. Customers of both Avista and Clearwater Power were affected by the outage.

The outage did result in school being canceled in the Potlatch and Garfield-Palouse school districts.

The outage in the Elk City area was reported at about 6 p.m. Saturday and affected 665 customers, according to Vowels. Restoration was expected at 11:45 p.m. Monday.

Weather was the cause of the Elk City outage.

“A tree came into contact with Avista power line resulting in several power poles down,” Vowels said in an email. “Given the remote location, access issues, and difficult terrain, it is taking multiple crews to make the necessary repairs to the equipment.”