Avista warns of potential Public Safety Power Shutoff in select areas due to high-fire-risk conditions

July 31, 2026

The National Weather Service is forecasting critical to extreme fire weather conditions starting Saturday, Aug. 1, with high confidence across much of the Idaho and Washington service territory.

SPOKANE, Wash. – July 30, 2026: Due to forecasted high-fire-risk conditions throughout the Inland Northwest, some Avista customers could experience a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) this Saturday, Aug. 1. At this time, no power shutoff has been implemented. However, customers should prepare for the possibility of an outage if weather conditions worsen as expected.

If power is shut off at your location to reduce the risk of wildfire, Avista will not turn it back on until the risk has passed and conditions are safe to do so. Before power can be restored, crews must inspect affected power lines and equipment to ensure it is safe to re-energize them.

Avista will provide daily updates until the high fire risk has passed or power has been restored. Weather forecasts can change quickly, and decisions about a potential PSPS will become clearer with more accurate forecasts on Saturday.

A Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) is a targeted, temporary outage in areas facing severe wildfire risk. PSPS is a last-resort measure, used only when weather conditions such as high winds and low humidity create a heightened wildfire threat.

What you need to know:

  • Depending on how long high-fire-risk weather conditions last, or if repairs are needed to damaged power lines, power could stay off longer than 24 hours.
  • Please plan ahead for the care of your pets and livestock, including access to water, feed, shelter, and any equipment that requires electricity.
  • Review your emergency plan and make sure everyone in your household knows what to do if the power goes out.
  • Avista will continue to monitor high-fire risk conditions and will contact you with further updates.
  • Customers who could be affected by this potential proactive step will receive direct communication.
  • If power is turned off for safety, we will work to turn service back on as soon as it is safe to do so and crews have completed required safety inspections.
  • To help complete inspections as efficiently and safely as possible, crews may use drones to assess power lines and equipment, including in hard-to-reach areas. Customers may see drones operating near utility infrastructure as part of the restoration process.
  • If you have a backup generator, please do a safety check, and make sure you have enough fuel to last several days. Generator safety tips can be found at myavista.com/PSPS.
  • If you rely on uninterrupted power for your health and safety or need assistance, additional support may be available.

Please visit myavista.com/PSPS for the most up-to-date information, including Avista’s outage map. Estimated restoration times will not be immediately available. Actual shutoff and restoration times may be delayed depending on weather and equipment conditions. To update your contact information, visit myavista.com/profile or call (800) 227-9187.

About Avista Utilities

Avista Utilities is involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy. We provide energy services and electricity to 429,000 customers and natural gas to 383,000 customers in a service territory that covers 34,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.5 million. Avista Utilities is an operating division of Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA). For more information, please visit www.myavista.com.

Avista Corp. and the Avista Corp. logo are trademarks of Avista Corporation.


2630

To unsubscribe from Avista’s news release distribution, send reply message to dalila.sheehan@avistacorp.com.

Contact: 
Media: David Vowels, david.vowels@avistacorp.com 
Avista 24/7 Media Access (509) 495-4174

Print Page
Email Page
RSS Feeds
Email Alerts