LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. (AP) – A winter storm in the Pacific Ocean on Saturday covered ice and snow, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power and disrupting travel through the region.
The icy rain covered roads, power lines and trees with ice in the Portland, Oregon area, and by Saturday morning, more than 270,000 people were without power. The extreme conditions, power loss and transportation problems forced Kate Brown, the Oregon government, to declare a state of emergency on Saturday afternoon.
“Crew members are now in full swing and coordinating with local emergency response teams on communications for emergency services, such as heating centers,” Brown said in a statement. “I am committed to making state resources available to ensure that crew members have the necessary resources on the ground.”
Winter storms and extreme cold have hit much of the western U.S., especially homeless communities at risk. Volunteers and shelter staff tried to keep homeless residents indoors in Casper, Wyoming, as the National Weather Service warned that wind colds would reach 35 degrees below zero over the weekend. Authorities in western Washington and western Oregon have opened heating shelters in an effort to protect homeless residents from the wet and cold.
The power outages in the Portland region could stretch for the entire weekend for some, said Elizabeth Lattanner, a spokeswoman for PGE, one of the region’s largest electricity suppliers.
“In storms like these, recovery time takes into account all the challenges our crew faces in getting to repair sites and repairing the disruptions,” Lattanner said. “We have more than 600 PGE and contract staff responding to the storm – it’s all on deck.”
Many ice-laden trees slammed under the weight, falling on power lines and blowing transformers into showerheads of blue and orange sparks. By noon on Saturday, more than 1,200 PGE power lines were down, Lattanner said.
Brian Zevenbergen watched on Saturday as a crew covered two large trees with ice that crashed across its driveway overnight, and briefly missed two cars parked there. His house in Lake Owego also lost power overnight. Just around the corner, another massive tree blocked the street in the suburb south of Portland and took out a street light.
“Last night everything was standing, and this morning the two trees blocked me in the driveway and blocked at least half of the street,” he said. “Friends on the lower levels have power, so I have an invitation to visit there.”
The ice and the lost power did not stop children from rejoicing over a second day of sledding in a place that rarely sees persistent snowfall. Residents blocked streets with cones and chased away snow plows so children could slide on icy slopes.
The ice and snowfall caused treacherous driving conditions, forcing Oregon transportation officials to close Interstate 84 at Columbia River Gorge, and local transportation agency TriMet suspended all bus and train services in the region.
TriMet spokeswoman Tia York asked people to avoid all travel unless it is an emergency. “It’s too dangerous out there,” York wrote in a statement.
Police in Salem, Oregon, have also warned residents in Marion and Polk counties to look at depleted power lines and fallen limbs, and Oregon police said fallen trees are blocking several roads in the region.
Some Washington State residents were also hit by the weather, with snow falling across the Seattle area Saturday morning and icy rain falling along the coast in Grays Harbor County. The city of Seattle activated its emergency operations center Saturday morning to coordinate the city’s winter storm response.
Heavy snowfall also led to dangerous driving conditions in parts of eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho, with Malheur County, Oregon, and Boise, Idaho, expected to receive 15 inches of snow on Saturday.
The National Weather Service said all three states should make an increase in winter moisture to hit the Northwest Sunday night, possibly leading to more heavy snowfall by Monday. The ‘pristine winter conditions’ are likely to continue throughout the week, the National Weather Service said on Saturday morning.
West Washington is expected to add another 8 to 15 inches of snow on Saturday, with another 5 inches possible on Sunday and Monday. Rain falling on accumulated snow, according to the National Weather Service, caused the possibility of urban flooding occurring on Sunday evening or Monday in some areas.
The heavy snow has caused dangerous avalanche conditions in the many areas across the Olympics and the Cascades mountain ranges, with major avalanches possible. Officials at the Payette Avalanche Center in west-central Idaho also warned of the increasing avalanche risk in the coming days.
Idaho’s neighbors to the east were blown up by fiercely cold weather, with the National Weather Service warning of dangerous winds in Montana and Wyoming. The wind chill was expected to reach as low as 50 degrees below zero in Billings and near Missoula, Montana, and almost as low over parts of Wyoming.
Low wind chills can cause freezing on exposed skin within minutes. The devastating cold was expected to last all weekend.
The National Weather Service has warned that the cold fever could be dangerous for pets and young livestock, at a time when the calving season is beginning for many livestock farmers.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center also warned of dangerous avalanche conditions in areas around Apsen, Steamboat and Flat Tops, Grand Mesa and Gunnison. According to the National Weather Service, cool temperatures with lows would be expected to last until below Monday morning all the way to Denver and across the Colorado Plains.
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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.