As thunderstorms rolled up from the Palouse and through Spokane Tuesday night, lightning contributed to more than 20 fires in Spokane County alone, Spokane Fire Department Chief Brian Schaeffer said.
“We had a surge in fires about 45 minutes ago,” Schaeffer said at about 9:40 p.m.
Power outages were reported throughout the Spokane area in the wake of the storms. Avista Utilities reported outages affected more than 21,000 customers at about 11:10 p.m. Inland Power and Light reported more than 2,000 customers without power at that time. Vera Water and Power, Kootenai Electric Cooperative and the Pend Oreille Public Utility District also reported outages.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Spokane area just before 9 p.m. that forecast gusts of wind up to 60 mph. Lightning struck the ground close to 300 times between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.