Damaging winds blasted Northwest Montana beginning Wednesday morning, cutting power to thousands of homes from Libby to the Flathead Valley.

At its peak, the outage affected more than 28,000 Flathead Electric Cooperative customers, including large portions of Libby, Kalispell, Whitefish, Coram and Bigfork.

Flathead Electric reported that main transmission lines in the Lakeside area were affected by the windstorm. Crews from Bonneville Power Administration were called to help make repairs. Due to the extent of the damage, estimated restoration times were not made available.

Numerous trees were toppled across roads in the Flathead Valley, and U.S. 93 South near Somers was closed after a semi-truck tipped over.

Flathead County Sheriff Brian Henio issued a temporary shelter in place and advised residents to stay at home or work, as emergency responders were working to clear roads.

Heino said people should not call 911 to report a downed tree unless there is an immediate threat to life. 

In response to the widespread damage, Flathead County Commissioners on Wednesday approved an emergency declaration, which authorizes the sheriff to order evacuations and control access to certain locations to protect public safety.

Montana 35 near Woods Bay was closed to north and southbound traffic for several hours after a tree fell and knocked down powerlines over the highway, according to Bigfork Fire Department Public Information Officer Al Benitez.  

Benitez said Bigfork Fire crews stayed on site until Montana Department of Transportation vehicles arrived. The highway reopened around 2 p.m.

Bigfork’s position on the lakeshore makes the town vulnerable to high winds, particularly when they are coming from the south, Benitez said. However, the fire department received only six calls as of mid-afternoon on Wednesday.  

“Some of the other areas have been hit much harder than we have,” Benitez said. “Unfortunately, the large cross that's just off Montana 82 as you come into Bigfork got knocked to the ground. It's been up there for many, many years, and has survived many windstorms. But apparently this one was more severe, it took that whole cross down.” 

Fire officials warned people to not approach or get near downed powerlines, as the wet ground surrounding it could also be a hazard.  

“Call 911, and we’ll get people out there as quickly as we can. We understand the inconvenience of blocked roads and power outages, but our biggest concern is that no one gets hurt,” Benitez said.  

Many Kalispell schools were without power Wednesday morning, including, Elrod Elementary, Hedges Elementary, Rankin Elementary, Flathead High School, Linderman Education Center, Ag. Ed. Center and the central office and district facilities building.

Parents were encouraged to check their students out of school as soon as the shelter in place order was lifted.

A high wind warning was issued through Wednesday evening for the Flathead and Mission valleys. Sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph were expected, with gusts of 65 mph possible.

The National Weather Service warned that winds could blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages were expected.

People were advised to stay in the lower level of a home during a windstorm and to avoid windows.

Rain was expected to transition to snow as the intense cold front passes across the area. Snow accumulation will favor Northwest Montana, the Weather Service said, especially eastern Flathead County. 

Marias Pass on U.S. 2 south of Glacier National Park could see about 6 to 12 inches of snow by Wednesday night. A winter storm warning was issued for the Glacier Park region due to the combination of high winds and snow.