Power crews were at work throughout the night as last night’s thunderstorms brought lighting, rain, and high winds to the area.  Northern Wasco PUD reported that at one point, it had about two-thousand customers without electricity, but as of late morning, that number was down to about 100 scattered throughout its service area.  Klickitat PUD says it had restored power in Bingen, Darland, Klickitat, Goldendale, and White Salmon.  But as of late this morning there was still about 1,500 customers without power, mostly in the western part of Klickitat County in the areas of BZ Corner and Husum, Trout Lake, and Glenwood.  Hood River Electric Co-op had to de-energize its Pine Grove Substation Thursday night because a transmission pole was struck by lightning and caught fire.  As of early Friday morning it had restored power to all locations that it was safe to do so.  They did have damaged fiber to restring on Fir Mountain and that work was underway today. 

A lighting strike caused a 150-acre fire broke out in Gilliam County near Arlington that led to a Level 3 evacuation Thursday evening.  The Gilliam County Sheriff’s Office says no homes were lost, with two outbuildings destroyed.  There was also a mudslide in Blalock Canyon, resulting in a closure of the road through that area from Interstate 84 to Heritage Lane.  Gilliam County road crews were working on clearing that road today.

Earlier Thursday, Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue along with the U.S. Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry knocked down a brush fire in the River Road/Crates Way area of The Dalles.