2,000 customers still affected by Spokane power outages

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Utility officials say just over 2,000 customers remained without power on Thanksgiving following a devastating windstorm more than a week earlier.

Avista spokeswoman Debbie Simock says crews hoped to restore power to nearly everyone by midnight Thursday, though a few outages could continue until Friday.

Crews worked through the holiday to repair electrical lines, bringing the number of affected customers down from 12,000 on Wednesday morning.

A windstorm Nov. 17 packed hurricane-force winds that toppled power poles and cracked trees, sending them crashing onto cars and killing three people in the state. More than 180,000 Avista customers lost power at the storm's peak.