A transformer explosion in North Lewiston left more than 1,100 Avista customers without electricity Thursday evening, triggering a response from utility crews and city police alike.
The outage stretched across a broad swath of the area, affecting neighborhoods from 21st and Main streets up through 12th Avenue. Avista crews were dispatched to address the failure, with an initial estimated restoration time of 11:30 p.m. Power was ultimately returned to customers roughly an hour ahead of schedule, coming back online around 10:30 p.m.
Police Step In as Traffic Signals Go Dark
With traffic signals knocked offline, Lewiston police officers were deployed to manage intersections at several busy locations. For approximately 30 minutes, drivers navigated key city corridors without functioning lights. Officers eventually cleared the scene once the signals came back online and traffic patterns returned to normal. Authorities noted that some officers may have also been responding to unrelated calls during the same period.
No injuries or additional infrastructure damage were reported in connection with the incident. This marks another in a recent string of power-related disruptions to hit the Lewiston area — a similar outage affecting more than 1,100 customers struck the city earlier Thursday evening. Residents and business owners dealing with separate property emergencies have also faced challenges in recent weeks, including a shop fire that resulted in a total loss in Lewiston.
What Comes Next
Avista has not publicly announced the cause of the transformer failure beyond the initial report of an explosion. Customers experiencing ongoing concerns with service reliability are encouraged to contact Avista directly. Lewiston officials have not indicated whether the back-to-back outage events will prompt a broader review of electrical infrastructure in the area.