Our local hazards
| Hazard | When | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Windstorms | fall and winter | The Nov. 17, 2015 storm (gusts over 70 mph) knocked out power to about 180,000 Avista customers; full restoration took almost 10 days. |
| Ice and snow storms | Nov–Mar | Ice Storm '96 coated the region in ice in November 1996, leaving many homes without power for days to two weeks. |
| Extreme cold | Dec–Feb | Arctic outbreaks can push lows below zero. Frozen pipes and furnace failures are common. |
| Wildfire | Jul–Sep | Fast-moving grass and forest fires; evacuations; planned power shutoffs. |
| Wildfire smoke | Jul–Sep | Smoke from fires across the West can bring hazardous air for weeks. |
| Heat waves | Jun–Aug | Spokane hit 109°F in the June 2021 heat dome, with rolling outages. |
| Flooding | spring | Snowmelt and rain-on-snow raise rivers and creeks. |
Who to call and where to look
Save these before you need them
Emergency: 911 · Non-emergency info, shelters, food, help: dial 2-1-1 (WA 211) · Poison control: 1-800-222-1222 (poison.org)
Power outages
- Avista: myavista.com/outages — outage map and reporting
- Inland Power & Light: inlandpower.com
- Others in the region include Modern Electric Water Company, Vera Water & Power, Kootenai Electric Cooperative and Northern Lights. Check your bill for your provider, and save the outage number in your phone.
Alerts and emergency management
- ALERT Spokane (Spokane County's alert system): alertspokane.org. The county moved to a new provider in 2026, so if you signed up before, register again.
- City of Spokane Emergency Management: my.spokanecity.org/emergencymanagement
- Spokane Valley alerts: sign up through the city at SpokaneValleyWA.gov
- National Weather Service Spokane: weather.gov/otx
- NOAA Weather Radio SAME code — Spokane County 053063, Kootenai County 016055 (see Communication)
Roads and air
- WSDOT mountain passes and road conditions: wsdot.wa.gov
- Air quality / smoke: AirNow.gov
Local resources for off-grid and self-reliance skills
- WSU Extension (extension.wsu.edu) — Master Gardeners, food preservation classes and free pressure-canner dial-gauge testing at many county offices. Highly recommended if you can food.
- University of Idaho Extension — the same for north Idaho.
- Local amateur radio clubs give license exams and run emergency nets.
- CERT training — free community emergency response courses.
Elevation notes for canning and cooking
Spokane sits around 1,900–2,000 feet, and much of the region is higher. That matters for canning:
- Weighted-gauge pressure canners: use 15 pounds of pressure above 1,000 feet (instead of 10).
- Dial-gauge pressure canners: the pressure needed goes up with altitude. Check the USDA table in your recipe — many vegetables need 11 lb up to 2,000 feet and 12 lb from 2,001–4,000 feet.
- Boiling-water canning: add time per the recipe's altitude chart (often +5 minutes from 1,001–3,000 feet).
See Preserving food and the free USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.
Rainwater and water rights
- Washington: rooftop rainwater collection generally does not require a water right under Department of Ecology policy, as long as the roof is part of a building used mainly for something other than collecting rain. Drinking-water use may be restricted by your county. See Ecology — Rainwater collection.
- Idaho: collecting rooftop rain is generally allowed if it hasn't entered a natural waterway. Check with the Idaho Department of Water Resources and your county.
Sources: Avista storm report, 2015 · HistoryLink — 2015 windstorm · NWS Spokane · Spokane County — ALERT Spokane