COEUR d'ALENE - Fierce northeast winds buffeted the region on Saturday night, cracking off tree limbs, toppling garbage cans and knocking out power lines.

"We started with about 369 customers out about 8 p.m. (Saturday)," said Avista Utilities Communication Manager Jessie Wuerst. "We had scattered outages throughout the service area. That's not un-typical in a windstorm."

A 48-mph gust roared through at 8 p.m., said climatologist Cliff Harris. The wind hit 52 mph just after midnight, and Harris' anemometer spun like a top.

"It sounded like a freight train coming through," he said. "These are the highest winds of the winter that I have clocked. We usually get one or two a year that are like this, but we haven't had one in February for a long time."

By midday on Sunday, despite round-the-clock efforts from Avista crews, 168 customers were still without power in the Coeur d'Alene area, according to the Avista website. Near Ponderosa Springs Golf Course, three utility poles were broken by falling trees, cutting power to the residential areas around French Gulch Road.

Crews installed new poles, climbed the logs and hooked up the wiring.

"I've been here since 9 or 10 last night," Jerry Portello, an Avista crewman working at French Gulch, said on Sunday afternoon. "It's a long process. We've been getting a few people on as the day goes on. We try to take care of the most amount of customers as possible."

All power in Coeur d'Alene was restored by mid-afternoon Sunday, Avista reported.