Renegade trampoline knocks out power to 11,000

Thousands of Avista customers in North Spokane lost power about 4 p.m. today after a trampoline blew onto an electrical substation that serves that area, according to Avista officials. About 11,000 people intially were without power, said Communications Manager Debbie Simock. As of 8:30 p.m., there were about 3,200 customers without power. The Avista Web site also was temporarily down, but is now back up. Simock said power should be restored to everyone by 11 p.m. tonight. Scattered showers and lightning are hitting areas around Spokane and Coeur d’Alene this evening and likely caused the gust that picked up the trampoline. “Right now we have a line of … showers with embedded thunderstorms,” said Meterologist Steven Van Horn. The storms are expected to continue into the evening and have been reported from West Plains all the way out to North Coeur d’ Alene and up to Bayview and Sandpoint, Van Horn said. The storms are expected to move southeast throughout the evening. Bloomsday runners need not despair, however; Sunday is still expected to be clear and dry as a high-pressure ridge enters the area. “We’re not expecting much in the way of showers or thunderstorm storms,” Van Horn said of the Bloomsday forecast. The next chance for precipitation is on Monday.