Yaak, parts of Troy powerless after storm hits county

The Yaak and some parts of Troy could be out of power through the weekend, following Wednesday night’s storm that leveled trees, closed roads and damaged power lines.

Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency Director Vic White said firefighters from Yaak, Troy, McCormick and Bull Lake worked until 1 a.m. Thursday morning to clear trees off the roads – primarily Highway 508 – so emergency services could access the Yaak.

At about the time the storm hit on Wednesday a motorcycle-versus-deer accident occurred on Highway 508. Firefighters had to chainsaw through the fallen trees to get an ambulance to the injured person.

Yaak River Tavern and Mercantile owner Gwen Allen said the motorcyclist was a local man who had been taken to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with possible broken ribs. The extent of his injuries were not known, she said, but he was returning to the Yaak today.

First responders had held up a tarp to protect the motorcyclist from the rain and wind while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Allen said.

The tavern was on two generators last night and while some people had come in to stay where there was power, many had come for gas for their own generators.

No other injuries had been reported during, or as a result of the storm, White said.

While emergency services were aware that a storm was on its way to Lincoln County on Wednesday night, it was not known where it would hit and how bad the storm would be, White said.

“It wasn’t clear if it would hit Libby or not – then I got a call from the weather service saying ‘it’s going to be bad, Vic,’” White said. “It just mowed down the forest.”

It was still unclear how many roads had been closed temporarily because of fallen trees, but firefighters had worked hard to clear the way through Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, White said.

He also confirmed reports a power line had fallen into a river west of Troy, where many residents were without power from about 5.30 p.m. until just before 9 p.m. Wednesday night.

Several residents in west Troy were still out of power and had been informed by Northern Lights, Inc. that it could be several days before power was restored.

Jennifer Hock, a Piney Road resident near the mile 10 marker, said she had been informed by the electricity company’s automated message service of the possible length of the outage and said she had lost most of the meat in her freezer because of the loss of power and was braced for several more days with no power.

Shawn Thrasher, who lived near Schoolhouse Lake, going towards Bull Lake, said power had been restored to his residence at about 1 p.m. on Thursday.

He had seen about 12 fallen trees in the area, following the storm, Thrasher said.

Calls made to Northern Lights went straight to an automated message, however a notice on their website said that as of 5 p.m. Thursday, 3600 of the 12000 members who had lost power in their coverage area – which includes Idaho – still did not have power. 

Members served from Yaak substations would not see power restored until lines could be patrolled to eliminate fire danger.

Members that were currently without power should plan on being without power for 24 hours or more, the message stated