10 Othello Avista customers, part of Royal City without power

OTHELLO - Gusts between 25 to 50 mph blew across the Columbia Basin on Monday as a Pacific storm moved through the region, knocking out power for 10 Avista Utility customers in Othello.

The Othello customers near Second Avenue and Scootney Street were expected to have their power restored by Monday afternoon, said Avista spokeswoman Sandra Hoye. There's about 1,300 Avista customers in Othello, she said.

Damaged power lines should be treated as if they're live and those who find downed lines should call the utility's work crews, she said.

"We're just working as quickly and safety as we possibly can," she said.

Qwest didn't report any customers without phone service because of the winds, according to the phone company's service department.

Grant County PUD received one report of an outage in Royal City, said the utility's spokeswoman Sarah Morford. The number of customers affected were unknown Monday night.

In January, high winds reaching roughly 100 mph sheared at least 100 power poles, cutting off electricity to people in Royal City and George. The storm followed a mid-December storm in 2006, which caused about $2.5 million in damages to downed poles and lines.

The National Weather Service called a wind advisory for the Basin on Monday and reported areas of blowing dust. More serious gale warnings were issued for the Washington and Oregon coasts.