A transformer explosion Thursday evening left more than 1,100 Avista customers without power across a wide stretch of North Lewiston, prompting a utility emergency response and a brief period of police-directed traffic control at several busy intersections.
The outage affected neighborhoods running from the 21st and Main Street corridor up through the 12th Avenue area. Avista crews initially projected power restoration by 11:30 p.m., but service was brought back roughly an hour ahead of schedule, returning to customers around 10:30 p.m.
Officers Step In as Signals Go Dark
For approximately 30 minutes, traffic signals throughout the affected area were inoperable, leaving drivers to treat intersections as four-way stops. Lewiston police officers were deployed to manage traffic at high-volume crossings before eventually clearing the scene once conditions normalized. Authorities noted that some officers may have simultaneously been responding to unrelated calls during that period.
This is the latest in a string of power-related disruptions to affect Lewiston-area residents. A power outage earlier this week also impacted more than 1,100 customers in the Lewiston area on a Thursday evening, raising questions about infrastructure reliability in the region. Lewiston has also seen other emergency incidents recently, including a shop fire that left a building a total loss in the city.
What Comes Next
Avista has not released additional details on the cause of the transformer failure or any planned upgrades to the affected infrastructure. Residents experiencing recurring outage concerns are encouraged to monitor Avista’s outage reporting tools and contact the utility directly with service inquiries. Lewiston police have not indicated any ongoing traffic safety concerns related to Thursday’s incident.