Knockout Blow
On Tuesday, Nov. 17, ferocious winds blowing at near-hurricane levels tore into Spokane, slamming 100-year-old trees to the ground, flattening power lines, injuring many and killing two people. The wind stretched Spokane’s citizens and infrastructure to a breaking point.
Section:Gallery
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Zach Trujillo battles the high winds as he catches a bus, Nov. 17, 2015, at the STA Plaza in downtown Spokane, Wash.
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A handful of trees bring down power lines on Arthur Street near 28th Avenue on Spokane's South Hill during the evening wind storm, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015. Several residents were unable to leave their homes because of the hanging power lines.
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Hollie Burke, left, and Brooke Crone examine Crones car covered in power lines, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, in Spokane Wash., after multiple trees fell and knocked down utility lines from a storm the day before. Cleanup began Wednesday in Washington state after a powerful storm killed three people, cut power to more than 350,000 residents and flooded rivers.
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Jay Bly checks out the damage to his home in Spokane, Wash., Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, after a Norway spruce fell on his house the day before. Cleanup began Wednesday in Washington state after a powerful storm killed three people, cut power to more than 350,000 residents and flooded rivers.
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Ron Valley, center, thanks his neighbors Brian Whitt, right, and Rod Fuller, left, after they removed a section of pine tree that fell across Valley's driveway at 38th and Dearborn, Wednesday morning, Nov. 18, 2015, in Spokane, Wash. A wind storm caused wide-spread destruction the prior evening.
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A cluster of three trees lay on the Morrison house on Valewood Court in the Fairwood neighborhood.
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Two large trees block 18th Ave. east of Bernard by the home of Matt Van Vleet, who lost his garage and two cars to a neighbor's tree behind his house.
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Matt Van Vleet, who lives on 18th Ave., east of Bernard, surveys the damage to his garage and two cars from a neighbor's tree, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. Another car now shown, a Subaru, was purchased only a week ago.
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Neighbor kids climb on downed trees around Glass Park on Spokane's north side, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, the day after a record-setting wind storm caused widespread power outages and traffic problems caused by falling trees.
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A giant pine lays on a house at N. Washington St. and W. Buckeye Ave. on Spokane's north side, shown, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, the day after a record-setting wind storm caused widespread power outages and traffic problems caused by falling trees.
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Cars lined up for drive-through service at the McDonald's at the Y snake around the parking lot, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, the day after a record-setting wind storm caused widespread power outages and traffic problems caused by falling trees. Many people were without power and were seeking breakfast and coffee.
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Ryan Butler uses a construction saw to cut back a giant tree which fell across his street, slightly damaging his front porch at 21st Ave. and Adams St. in Spokane during Tuesday night's windstorm.
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Maurice Carrier takes a traffic cone from a closed road near his home and uses it mark the site where a large tree came down, tearing up pavement on High Dr., near 21st Ave., Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, the day after a record-setting wind storm caused widespread power outages and traffic problems caused by falling trees.
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A homeowner, who did not want to be identified, salvages a house plant in her northside Spokane living room that was damaged by a large pine tree in Tuesday evenings windstorm.
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Power lines from a fallen utility pole block the intersection of Rockwell Avenue and Jefferson street, Wednesday morning after a fierce wind storm blew through Spokane Tuesday evening.
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Neighbors survey downed powerlines caused by falling trees along Arthur St. near 28th Ave. on Spokane's South Hill, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, the day after a record-setting wind storm caused widespread power outages and traffic problems caused by falling trees.
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Neighbors survey downed powerlines caused by falling trees along Arthur St. near 28th Ave. on Spokane's South Hill, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, the day after a record-setting wind storm caused widespread power outages and traffic problems caused by falling trees.
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Workers with Spokane Public Schools remove two pine trees that fell on Balboa Elementary School during last night's windstorm.
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The family of homeowner Rachel Wier band together to cut up and clear a large ponderosa pine that landed and blocked the road at 4100 N. Hawthorne Street, Wed. Nov. 18, 2015.
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Dean Biernacki with JB Restoration, heads to the roof of a house at 3911 S. Sherman to help remove a large ponderosa pine that crashed into a house during Tuesday evening's windstorm. The owners, according to Biernacki, were home at the time, but only suffered a scratches as the tree crashed in above them as they sat in a love seat in the living room.
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Scott Travis views the damage to his home at 55th and Pittsburg, Nov. 18, 2015, after a pine tree smashed their rear deck and kitchen area. A windstorm tore through the area the night before.
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In the alley between West Jackson and York Avenues, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015 an Avista Utilities crew reconnects a feeder trunk line to a new power pole that had been knocked down by a large tree in Tuesday's windstorm.
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Brian Wilson, left, and Roy Jacks, right, stock the frozen food cases at Fred Meyer on Thor, Nov. 19, 2015, in Spokane, Wash.
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Roy Jacks, Fred Meyer assistant food manager, stocks frozen food into the store's coolers, Nov. 19, 2015, at Thor and Fourth Street in Spokane, Wash. The food was removed when the power went out on Tuesday and stored in refrigerated trucks until power was restored.
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Tammara McGovern dismantles a tree that fell from across the street, bringing down power and utility lines and destroying her fence in Spokane Valley, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. McGovern and her husband use wood to heat their home during the power outage.
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Tammy Innamorato yanks the cable on a finicky generator at her home in Spokane Valley, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. Her family has been sleeping in a basement room near a woodstove to stay warm while the power is out.
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Eric Tanner gets out of the cold weather to charge up the batteries in his cell phone, Nov. 19, 2015, at Fred Meyer store on Thor and Fourth Avenue.
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Verne Windham of KPBX sits in a dark, unheated studio and prepares to start the national news feed at noon, Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. The tiny KPBX studio on N. Monroe is without electricity and is powered only by a portable generator, and only the bare minimum of equipment to keep the studio on the air. There is no heat.
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In this Nov. 20, 2015 photo, crews clear downed trees tangled in power and utility lines in Spokane, Wash., after deadly storms swept through the state leaving many without power.
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The hum of a generator could be heard throughout Hauser Lake at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. The aftermath of Tuesday's storm has left many without power.
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Jack Donahue checks out the remains of his BMW X3 SUV after the city came and removed a large blue spruce tree that had crushed the vehicle at 28th Avenue and Madison in Tuesday's windstorm. "It took a licking, but still starts up and runs," said Donahue.
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Crews work to remove debris from the historic Jewett House near Sanders Beach in Coeur d'Alene on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, after fallen trees damaged it during the windstorm on Tuesday. The home, built in 1917 and granted to the city of Coeur d'Alene in 1978 by Potlatch Forest Co., serves as a senior citizens and recreation center.
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The city of Coeur dAlene lost part of its horticultural heritage when a historic tree fell on a historic house. A hybrid mountain ash listed in Idahos Big Tree registry was one of three trees that crashed into the Jewett House during Tuesdays windstorm. ”We lost the whole front porch, and there’s damage to the roof line”, said Steve Anthony, the citys parks and recreation director. We won’t know the extent of the damage until we can get the cleanup done. The three-story house at Sanders Beach was built in 1917 by one of Idahos early timber families. The house was later donated to the city by Potlatch Corp.
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Lavone Watson, who is recently widowed, sits with her bible and dog Riley in the warm lobby of Touchmark, an upscale assisted living development on the South Hill, Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. The retirement center is without power from Avista, so the rooms are cold but the common areas have power from a giant generator unit, so residents tend to gather in the lobby and hallways to stay warm.
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Shaun Meeds views the damage a fallen tree caused to a condo at the corner of 3rd and Chestnut, Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, in Spokane's Browne's Addition. Tuesday's windstorm caused extensive property damage through the area.
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Even basic infrastructure, such as a street sign, was among the casualties of falling trees from Tuesday's storm. Photographed Friday, Nov. 20, 2015.
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Bob Snider made the trip from his South Hill home to the Fred Meyer in the East Central neighborhood to shop for food, Nov. 20, 2015. The power was knocked out to many grocery stores on the south hill after a violent windstorm caused extensive damage throughout the area.
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Shelly Aase embraces her dog Mattie Jo as they venture out from their home to view the wind damage on Upton near Milton in north Spokane, Nov. 20, 2015. Aase says the dog has been wrapped inside her coat for reassurance. Aasue has on a head lamp for light in her darkened house.
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This Nov. 20, 2015 photo shows trees down in Patrick Byrne Park in North Spokane, Wash., after a powerful storm swepts through the area on Tuesday, Nov. 17. More than 180,000 customers lost power at the storm's peak, and those still in the dark a week later face a freezing forecast as Thanksgiving approaches.
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Nine-year-old Quercus Watters sits bundled up with a hat, gloves and coat solving math problems his cold south Spokane apartment, Friday, Nov. 20,2015, after high winds knocked out power to the region on Tuesday.
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Pizza boxes sit atop tree rounds in Jerry Rasley's yard as volunteer crews help Rasley and his neighbors on the 2600 block of west Upton clean up windstorm debris, Nov. 20, 2015.
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Jazlyn Grimm walks her dog Mia past a crew of workers cutting fallen trees and securing a damaged home on the 2600 block of west Upton, Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, in Spokane, Wash. A powerful windstorm ripped through the area on Tuesday evening causing extensive property damage.
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Josh Bailey swings on the playground at Coeur d'Alene Park, Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. in Spokane, Wash. A pine tree crashed down between the swing and a wood play structure but caused no damage during Tuesday's windstorm.
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Tree rounds are transported by pickup truck north on Division Street at Sprague Avenue, Nov. 20, 2015.
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Kootenai Electric works through the night on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, near Hauser Lake to restore power due to the outage from the windstorm that happened on Tuesday, November 17.
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"My power went off at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday," said Dawn Tipke as she held her dog Sophie while working on a puzzle at her home in Scenic Mobile Estate near Spirit Lake on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. She lost her power during the windstorm.
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"We don't need these pipes to freeze," said Dennis Wheeler, on-site manager for Scenic Mobile Estates as he walks away from the pump house on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. He placed a smoker near the pipes in the pump house to keep the pipes from freezing during the power outage due to the wind storm that his on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015.
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In this Nov. 21, 2015 photo, Jake Hines, left, and Ross Rukke, of Capstone Construction, work to remove a fallen tree in Spokane, Wash., after deadly storms swept through the state leaving many without power.
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In this Nov. 21, 2015 photo, fallen trees lie across downed power lines on a street in Spokane, in the aftermath of a windstorm that hit the area on Tuesday, Nov. 17.
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Nicole Tucker inquires with line crews, from Sturgeon Electric in Oregon, about how much more time is needed before her power would be turn back on near the corner of 32nd and Division, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, in Spokane, Wash. The crews were replacing 5 poles damaged in Tuesday's windstorm. Tucker said she had four child trying to stay warm in her home.
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Line crews, from Sturgeon Electric based in Oregon, repair a damage stretch of power lines along Division and 34th Avenue, Nov 21, 2015, in Spokane, Wash.
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Danelle James stopped her Saturday morning run, Nov. 21, 2105, to photograph the damage high winds caused to trees and power lines at the corner of 32nd and Division.
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A hand-made sign warns motorists of fallen tree debris on 32nd Avenue near Manito Boulevard. City crews clean up the mess with dump trucks and loaders, Nov. 21, 2015.
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Volunteer Ceci Garrett checks up on Chad Kranz whose power had just been restored on E. Pratt Street in East Central. Volunteers with the city fanned out through East Central Monday, checking up on people who have been without power for almost a week.
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Staying warm by his fireplace, Spokane Valley resident Bill Church has resisted repeated offers to stay with family members. ”I am very blessed, he said. I dont like to leave my home. I like it here. “
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Even as the sun goes down, a utility crew works on a transformer on 29th Avenue in front of Super 1 Foods, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015. Crews are working around the clock to restore power, especially in the hard hit 99203 zip code area.
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The climber on a tree crew dismantles a huge healthy pine to prevent future blow down dangers in a South Hill neighborhood, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015 Many homeowners are having healthy trees removed to prevent future damage.
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A tree crew, a crane crew and Avista employees look at a large ponderosa pine tree that fell on a house on Oak Street W. 2nd Avenue and Pacific Avenue during last weeks windstorm, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015. It was removed by Atlas Tree Service using a crane today. The tree had smashed the attic room of an older home which was divided into a duplex.
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