Moisture causes dust accumulation to combust

OTHELLO - Thirty-two Avista Utilities customers in the Sprague area were expected to get their power back yesterday.

The outages in Sprague, which is typically managed out of the company's Othello office, were caused by a storm moving through the area, according to Debbie Simock, Avista Utilities communications manager.

"What happens in the case yesterday is after it's been hot, dry and dusty for any period of time and we get some moisture, the dust accumulation on the power poles and some of the equipment there acts as a conductor and it combusts," Simock explained. "We had a number of pole fires throughout our service territory (Sunday)."

The 32 customers in Sprague lost their power about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, and were still without power prior to noon Monday. Simock anticipated customers would have their power back on by today.

"We need to replace a 45-foot pole, so our crews are working on that," Simock said.

The pole being replaced in Sprague is located at the intersection of Ghers and Lake roads, Simock said.

Seventy-five customers in the Davenport area who also lost their power were returned to service.

"It was a pole fire," Simock said. "Hopefully, the rain that moved through the area cleansed the poles and the equipment, just kind of washed them clean, and so it won't be a problem again, but it's fairly common this time of year. There's nothing customers can do or should do."

One of the possible outcomes of a pole fire is downed wires, Simock added. If someone sees a downed line, they should always consider it energized, she urged, and call the company at 800-227-9187.