Wednesday morning's windstorm killed a Fernan Village man and caused mass power outages across North Idaho and Eastern Washington.

“It's a very unfortunate incident related to the wind," Kootenai County Undersheriff Brett Nelson said. "Simply put, a tree fell and entered a residence and came to rest upon a male who was asleep, which ultimately led to his death.”  

Others in the Theis Lane home were rescued without serious injury, KCSO said. The incident was reported about 6 a.m.

The 55-year-old’s death was one of about 40 calls related to the windstorm the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office received across the morning. 

At the height of the storm, wind speeds surpassed those recorded during the historic 2015 event, leaving about 80,000 Avista electric customers without power, Avista said. As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, about 37,000 customers remained without service.

Avista first reported outages at 5 a.m. after heavy rains left the ground soft and saturated, contributing to the number of trees toppled by strong winds.

National Weather Service meteorologist Daniel Butler said the gusts from the storm reached 91 mph in Nez Perce County. 

“Between and 4 and 7 a.m., there was a line of showers and a couple of areas that had lightning that moved through with pretty damaging windstorms,” Butler said. “Data recorded at the Coeur d’Alene Airport indicated wind gusts reaching up to 66 mph at the height of the windstorm and Lewiston Airport gusted at 84 mph. That was pretty noteworthy for Idaho.” 

Post Falls residents Dave and Claudia Landon initially had no idea that a tree had fallen in their yard early Wednesday.

“I didn’t notice it until it was light out and I went out to get the newspaper,” Dave said. 

Claudia said their daughter planted the tree after bringing it home from school 35 years ago. 

“It's funny because when she got that tree for Arbor Day in fourth grade, all of her friends got these really pretty trees and she was really disappointed. We didn’t know what it was,” Claudia said. “When it grew, it blossomed so beautiful and smelled so good.”  

The Landons had recently removed a large branch and were grateful that the portion that had split and fallen in the storm toppled away from their home.  

“It didn’t even hit our neighbor’s bushes next door or the Buddha statue,” Claudia said.   

Avista said all available resources were deployed during the storm, including 45 line crews, six contract line crews, and 40 vegetation management crews. In addition, 17 contract crews from outside the area arrived to support restoration efforts. 

The storm damaged both transmission and distribution systems, primarily due to trees contacting power lines and bringing wires down, Avista said. Crews were working through downed trees, debris, and rugged terrain in some areas.

Avista said ongoing assessments and repairs will take time. Today, helicopter patrols will assist by inspecting transmission lines that remain out of service. 

"These aerial assessments were difficult to conduct on Wednesday due to prolonged high winds, but they will provide critical information needed to determine restoration timelines," a press release said.

Kootenai Electric Cooperative reported that more than 7,000 were affected Wednesday afternoon. Officials noted that multiple crews are working south of the Spokane River, down to the Plummer area, and on the east side of Lake Coeur d’Alene, as well as on the east side of Hayden Lake, Bayview and Twin Lakes.   

A transmission line for Kootenai Electric that serves south of the river, including the Cougar Gulch area, down to Mica Bay, had a large tree on it. 

Plummer, Harrison, and those on the east side of Lake Coeur d’Alene should plan to be without power for multiple days.

Bonner County

All schools in the West Bonner County School District and the Lake Pend Oreille School district were closed for Wednesday due to the storm.

The windstorm, which hit the region last night, knocked down several trees and made it unsafe for buses to reach their destinations safely. WBCSD Superintendent Kim Spacek said he got a phone call early Wednesday morning from bus drivers who said cars were having trouble staying on the road due to the wind. 

“It’s better to keep the kids home, we don’t want to put them or the bus drivers at risk,” Spacek said.  

LPOSD said in a statement sent out on Facebook that multiple schools in the district were without power Wednesday morning, contributing to the decision to close the schools for the day. LPOSD Superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer said she did not take the decision lightly and the district is continuing to monitor the weather to determine if the schools will reopen tomorrow.

"We’re monitoring for the potential of more high winds, ensuring that roadways are clear and that power is restored at all our schools," Meyer said. "If conditions do not improve and our schools are without power, I will get the word out that school is cancelled as early as possible tomorrow morning through parent communication, our website, news outlets and social media."

Trees knocked out power to many in the county, with reports of trees falling on homes and vehicles.

Shoshone County

Power outages persisted throughout the day Wednesday in every Shoshone County community and the surrounding area. Pinehurst, Kingston and Pine Creek areas appear to have been hit the hardest. 

Pinehurst Police Chief John Richter began his day working with residents and city crews to clear roadways of fallen trees and debris. But as the day went on, he transitioned to helping people find resources. 

Richter said there were plenty of downed trees and other destruction, but it wasn’t at the levels seen following previous storms. 

“I think we experienced far more during the storm four years ago,” Richter said. “That storm knocked down a lot of our most vulnerable trees, but it also prompted our residents to be proactive with their trees. A lot of the ones that might’ve been blown over this time around were removed.”

A January 2021 windstorm caused widespread devastation, including the collapse of the historic Pinehurst Tall Pine tree. 

According to Shoshone County Public Works Director Jessica Stutzke, several power poles and power lines are snapped and tangled in the North Fork region. Several roads are entirely closed due to power lines lying across them. 

“We’re throwing all our resources at this,” Stutzke said. “We’re trying to open as many roadways as we can, but there are still hazards out there.”

At this time, Stutzke doesn’t have a clear timeline for power restoration. 

Reporters Jack Freeman and Josh McDonald contributed to this story.

    Crews work at a Fernan Village property, where a man was killed when a tree fell on his home Wednesday morning.
  

    An uprooted tree narrowly missed a trailer after toppling in Pinehurst on Wednesday.
  

    BAUHERR Crane Services out of Dalton Gardens remove a tree from a house in Fernan Village late Wednesday morning.
  

  

    A light pole toppled in Pinehurst as extreme winds ripped through the region on Wednesday.