BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Power says that "line interference" was the cause of the power outage on Tuesday night that left almost 8,000 people without power.
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The cause of the interference is still under investigation.
"Line interference can be a number of things, like a branch falling into a line," Alexis Freeman, a marketing specialist for Idaho Power, told Idaho News 6 in an email. "During an outage, our number one goal is to safely restore power to our customers, then we inspect the line for any damage or anything that needs to be fixed. In some cases of line interference, we’re unable to determine an exact cause."
The outage impacted customers in Downtown Boise, the North End, West Boise, and Garden City.
Joan Dodd has lived on the North End for 35 years, she says she has never seen an outage quite like Tuesday's.
“I was reading, then everything was dark, it went out really quick," Dodd told Idaho News 6. "Not flashing or anything, it just went 'Poof'.”
The power was out until shortly after 11:00pm Tuesday night. Dodd says she was pleased with how quickly Idaho Power responded, something she says they do often.
The only lingering impact, Dodd says, was her internet being spotty Wednesday morning.
She says it's always important to be prepared with alternative sources of light for nights like Tuesday.
"Yeah I have flashlights and a solar-backed light and things like that, and then you've got your phone of course," Dodd said.
For updated outage maps or to sign up for Idaho Power's text alert system, visit their website.
