SPOKANE, Wash. — A windstorm devastated Spokane and other areas of the Inland Northwest on Wednesday, Jan. 13, leaving two people dead and widespread damage in its wake.
A 71-mph gust recorded at the Spokane International Airport made the 2021 windstorm, which left more than 100,000 people without power at its peak, as strong as the historic storm in 2015. That storm also killed two people and left 200,000 people without power for days.
A windstorm in the Puget Sound area on Jan. 13 also knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people, according to reporting from KREM's Seattle sister station KING 5. At one point, more than a half-million people were without power in western Washington on Wednesday.
The windstorm in 2015 led Governor Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency in Washington but he did not do so after the most recent event in Spokane, which may have prompted questions for some people.
Mike Faulk, a spokesperson for Inslee, said on Tuesday that the governor's office is "unaware of circumstances where damage exceeds local government resources."
The City of Spokane echoed this sentiment, with spokesperson Marlene Feist saying it has been able to manage cleanup in the area.
Costs are still being determined and are expected to primarily be overtime for cleanup crews, equipment for tree removal and minor property damage. The city does have an emergency contingent reserved believed to be sufficient for addressing expected costs, Feist added.
Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward also declared a civil emergency in the city one day after the most recent windstorm. Feist said the declaration assists with "efficient management of needs and allows for access to our own reserve accounts."
Woodward is not asking the governor at this time to declare a state of emergency but costs are still being finalized, Feist said. If the governor were to declare one, he could request that the president do the same, which is the primary way that disaster funding would be allocated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
City of Spokane crews completed cleanup of trees and branches in public rights-of-way late Sunday afternoon, Feist said. The city is now working on final cleanup efforts, including the grinding up of debris that will take several weeks.
Spokane Parks and Recreation is working to deal with downed trees in city parks, Feist said.
Solid Waste Collection is providing curbside clean green pickup of trees and limbs the week of Jan. 18 for customers who subscribe to that service. Free disposal is also available at the Waste to Energy Facility (WTE) on Geiger Boulevard through Saturday, Jan. 30.
