Power Outages in Old Town
On March 12, 2026, nearly 2,000 residents and businesses in Old Town, Spokane County, Washington, experienced a significant power outage. The outage was reported just after 10 a.m., coinciding with severe weather conditions affecting the region.
Avista Utilities reported that over 50,000 customers were without power across various counties in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. The outages were attributed to strong winds, which reached speeds of up to 68 mph in Spokane County.
As the day progressed, the situation worsened. By around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, there were upwards of 3,000 customers in the dark in Washington. This prompted local authorities to issue safety advisories, urging drivers to treat intersections with traffic signal outages as four-way stops.
By Thursday morning, as of 6:30 a.m., King County reported 33,993 customers without power. However, restoration efforts were underway, and power was gradually being restored overnight and throughout the morning.
By 4 a.m., the number of customers without power had dropped to around 90,000, indicating progress in the restoration efforts. Dominion Energy’s online outage map confirmed that 1,998 customers were still affected in Old Town, with the cause of the outage pending investigation.
Steven Van Horn, a spokesperson for Avista Utilities, commented on the situation, stating, “It’s about in-line with what we were expecting.” Restoration is estimated to be completed between 2-5 p.m., providing some hope for those still affected.
As the community awaits full restoration, the impact of the outages is felt not only in homes but also in local businesses, which rely on power for daily operations. The sequence of events highlights the vulnerability of infrastructure to extreme weather conditions.
Details remain unconfirmed regarding the exact cause of the outages, but the situation is being closely monitored by utility companies and local authorities.