They are owned by Chuck Jones, former head coach of the Arena Football League's Oregon Blackbears, along with Sara Gumm and Jay Jenkins.

They play their home games at the First Interstate Bank Center at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond and are now members of Arena Football One.

The Thunder were rebranded as the Portland Steel in 2016 after the league took control of the franchise from Emmert, then abruptly folded at season's end with no explanation.

[1] On October 15, 2018, the American West Football Conference (AWFC) was founded by Chris Reynolds of Platinum Events & Security, LLC, the owners of the Idaho Horsemen and added the Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks, Reno Express, and Tri-Cities Fire to create the league.

In 2023, the Storm made it to American West Bowl IV to face the Idaho Horsemen after they defeated the Skyhawks 44–40 in the semi-final.

Chuck Jones, the former head coach of the now-defunct Blackbears, part-owns the new team along with Sara Gumm and Jay Jenkins, two local business owners.