A storm with high winds, heavy rain and lightning knocked out power to thousands of people in northwest Montana and northern Idaho Wednesday evening.

The storm rolled through Troy at about 6:30 p.m. while city councilors were deciding if they would hire a new police chief.

While the meeting room went dark momentarily, a generator brought power back to the facility. Councilors eventually elected to hire Travis Miller as the new chief.

Wind knocked down several power poles that left more than 10,000 without power Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

Libby and Troy public schools cancelled classes for Thursday. Outages were also reported in the Yaak and Thompson Falls.

According to power outage maps, more than 3,100 Flathead Electric customers were without power at noon Thursday. Nearly 12,000 Northern Lights Electric Cooperative customers were also without power.

According to a social media post early Thursday by Northern Lights, crews were working to clear downed trees, restring downed wire and replace broken power poles.