Campus Alert Archive
U of I

The Largest Gas Outage in Avista History Left the Vandals Without Heat

IDinfrastructure failureemergency notificationmedium confidence

On November 8, 2023, a third party damaged the Williams natural-gas pipeline near Pullman, Washington, triggering what Avista called the largest natural-gas outage in its history and cutting heat to roughly 37,000 customers across the Palouse. The University of Idaho canceled classes on November 9 and 10 and closed non-essential offices because most Moscow-campus buildings had no heat or hot water. The disruption straddled the Washington-Idaho state line and forced the City of Moscow to close non-essential offices as well.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
University of Idaho
Public R2 · ID
Vandal Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction224 chars
Vandal Alert: Due to a regional natural gas outage, the University of Idaho is canceling classes Thursday, Nov. 9. Most campus buildings have no heat or hot water. Non-essential offices are closed. Monitor email for updates.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: The Argonaut and KXLY reported the university canceled classes and closed non-essential offices because most Moscow-campus buildings had lost heat and hot water; the precise notification text was not archived publicly.
Moscow, Idaho observes Pacific Time even though much of southern Idaho is on Mountain Time, so the timeline here is anchored to PST.
UPDATEmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction211 chars
Vandal Alert update: Classes remain canceled Friday, Nov. 10, as the regional gas outage continues. Non-essential offices stay closed. Avista is working to restore service; further updates will be sent by email.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: coverage reported the cancellation was extended through Friday, November 10, as Avista warned the outage could last several days.
This is an update rather than an all-clear; it extended the closure rather than restoring normal operations.
Context

Background

The November 2023 Palouse gas crisis is an unusual cross-border campus emergency. A third party damaged the Williams natural-gas pipeline near Pullman, Washington on November 8, 2023, and Avista — which buys gas from Williams — described the resulting outage as the largest in company history, affecting about 37,000 customers. The University of Idaho's student newspaper, The Argonaut, reported classes were canceled because most Moscow-campus buildings lost heat and hot water, and KXLY reported the City of Moscow closed non-essential offices the same day. Coverage from Big Country News confirmed the U of I campus was directly impacted. The incident is a reminder that emergency notifications often address loss of habitability — heat and hot water in a November cold snap — rather than crime or violence.
Analysis

Key Findings

A damaged Williams pipeline near Pullman caused what Avista called the largest gas outage in its history, affecting roughly 37,000 Palouse customers
The University of Idaho canceled classes November 9 and 10 and closed non-essential offices because campus buildings lost heat and hot water
Moscow, Idaho sits in the Pacific Time zone, unlike Mountain-Time southern Idaho — a common timezone trap for campus-alert chronologies
The emergency spanned the Washington-Idaho state line, with the originating pipeline damage in Washington and the campus impact in Idaho
Outcome
The University of Idaho canceled classes for two days and closed non-essential offices while Avista restored service; the outage affected the broader Palouse region for several days.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    UI classes cancelled due to damaged gas pipeline - The Argonaut
    uiargonaut.com
  2. News
    U of I, Palouse-area schools closed Thursday due to gas service shutoff - KXLY
    kxly.com
  3. News
    Largest natural gas outage in Avista's history cuts off heat to much of the Palouse - The Spokesman-Review
    spokesman.com
  4. News
    Avista Utilities Natural Gas Outage Impacting University of Idaho Campus - Big Country News
    bigcountrynewsconnection.com
Tags
utility-failuregas-outageidahoweather-relatedcampus-closurepacific-time
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion