Washington Storm Report: Nov. 23, 2015

Please click here for a more recent report

The transmission system for both electricity and XFINITY services in Spokane remains compromised by record amounts of storm damage. This morning, 17 technicians from Western Washington add to the team of more than 100 people in Spokane who are performing repairs.

We have reports of 450 spans of cable and fiber that need work, but we can’t get to all of them. Power crews have to complete their repairs before we can go in. That means a variety of areas throughout Spokane do not have their services. Please be assured we won’t rest until every customer has their service again.

If your home has power, but XFINITY services are not working or have issues, please call 1-800-934-6489 and stay on the line to make a report. If you have feedback on the call, please let us know in the comments section.

Power companies are saying some service may not be restored until the middle of the week. It’s only when power crews are done that Comcast can enter an area. So we are arranging for extra crews to work on Thanksgiving and the holiday weekend to continue to bring service to customers.

Here are some common questions we are receiving:

When will service be restored to my neighborhood? We are often unable to provide a repair ETA because of the extensive damage to the network. This is because there are some areas that need repair that we cannot approach yet, even several days after the storm. This storm was one of the worst in recorded history in Spokane. We cannot enter areas until power crews have completed their restoration and made the area safe. It’s only then that we can see the full extent of damage and can make repairs.  In addition, as power comes up throughout a region, crews move around.

Will my Comcast services return when my power returns? Almost always yes, but there could be a lag time for a couple of reasons. The good news is that more than 99 percent of the time, when your power comes up, your Xfinity products and services come back up. If you don’t see the services return, it’s good to perform a powercycle to “freshen up” the equipment.

However, it’s only when power is restored to an area that it’s considered safe for other crews to work on a pole. So when your power comes back up, that’s a sign that Comcast crews are now able to enter an area and begin any repairs that are needed to facilities serving your neighborhood.

My power has been on, but I have not had Comcast services. What should I do? On some occasions, you may have power at home, but not Comcast services. This is usually due to damage in the network around you. The damage that took out your electrical power may not be the damage that took out your Comcast services.

Our network relies on electricity to carry signal not just at your neighborhood, but throughout a city. Large numbers of transmissions facilities are damaged in Spokane. We are grateful for your patience. It is also possible that there is damage to the system at your home or in a neighborhood pocket. If you have had power for some time and want to report any issues with Comcast services, contact us. 

Comcast crews are working hard today and will be working hard through the weekend to restore service as quickly as they can and as safely as they can. We want services restored to each and every Comcast customer.

For a focus on what’s going on in the Spokane area as seen on Twitter, click here to see the results for hashtag #Inlandwind.

Please click here for earlier storm recovery reports. 

If you want to follow the progress of power crews, here is Avista’s Twitter account: @AvistaUtilities.

Finally, here are two photos from our Twitter stream at @ComcastSpokane. The first is a photo of crews working last night in Spokane. The second is a photo that the technician called “View from the Bucket.”

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Crews working in Spokane Sunday night.
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View from the Bucket

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