Avista plans early morning outage for 419 Hayden Lake customers

Avista will shut off power to about 419 electric customers on the south side of Hayden Lake from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. Thursday, July 9, while crews perform maintenance and repairs on equipment in the area.

Upper Hayden Lake Road is also expected to be closed during the same three-hour window, with traffic controls in place. That makes the work more than a utility interruption: it will affect access through part of the Hayden Lake area while the outage is under way.

Avista said all affected customers will be notified in advance. The utility listed 800-227-9187 for questions or concerns and said its interactive outage map provides real-time outage updates and restoration information.

Households and small businesses in the affected area should plan for several hours without electricity, especially if morning routines depend on power for coffee makers, garage doors, security systems or refrigerated medications. Charging phones and other devices before the outage begins will help reduce disruption during the early-morning work window.

The planned shutdown comes as Avista continues regular maintenance across its service territory. Even though this outage is scheduled and limited to a relatively small number of customers, the impact in Hayden Lake can still be significant because a few hours without power can disrupt commutes, property access and daily household needs.

The notice also comes against the backdrop of recent outages in the same part of Kootenai County. In June 2024, more than 100 customers in Hayden Lake lost power because of equipment failure. In June 2022, Avista reported about 700 customers affected in Post Falls and Hayden Lake during another outage. Those incidents show why even a short, planned interruption draws attention in north Idaho, where utility problems can ripple quickly through morning schedules and travel routes.