LAKE OSWEGO, Oregon (AP) – A winter storm covered the Pacific Northwest on Saturday with ice and snow, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity and disrupting travel around the region.
Freezing rains left roads, power lines and trees covered in ice in the Portland, Oregon region, and on Saturday morning more than 270,000 people were without electricity. Extreme conditions, energy loss and transportation problems caused Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to declare a state of emergency Saturday afternoon.
“Crews are in full force and coordinating with local emergency response teams in communications for emergency services, such as heating centers,” Brown said in a statement. “I am committed to having state resources to ensure that crews have the resources they need on the ground.”
Winter storms and extreme cold affected much of the western U.S., endangering homeless communities. Volunteers and shelter employees were trying to make sure homeless residents of Casper, Wyoming, were indoors, as the National Weather Service warned that wind cooling would reach 35 degrees below zero over the weekend. . Authorities in western Washington and western Oregon opened warming shelters in an effort to protect homeless residents from the cold and humidity.
Some power outages in the Portland region could extend over the weekend, said Elizabeth Lattanner, a spokeswoman for PGE, one of the region’s leading electricity suppliers.
“In storms like these, restoration takes time considering all the challenges our crews face in getting to restoration sites and repairing those disruptions,” Lattanner said. “We have over 600 PGEs and hired staff responding to the storm, everything is at hand.”
Many ice-laden trees fell under the weight, falling on power lines and causing the transformers to explode into showers of blue and orange sparks. By noon Saturday, more than 1,200 PGE power lines had fallen, Lattanner said.
Brian Zevenbergen watched on Saturday as a crew sawed two large ice-covered trees that had crashed across their driveway overnight and nearly two cars parked there were missing. His home on Lake Owego had also lost power overnight. Around the corner, another massive tree blocked suburban street south of Portland and had pulled a streetlight out of the city.
“Last night, everything was stopped and this morning the two trees blocked me on the roadway and they were blocking at least half of the street,” he said. “Friends at lower levels have power, so I have invitations to go hang out.”
The ice and lost power did not prevent the children from rejoicing on a second consecutive day of sledding in a place that rarely sees sustained snowfall. Residents blocked the streets with cones and moved away snowplows so children could slide down the hills with ice bars.
Ice and snowfall caused treacherous driving conditions, forcing Oregon transportation officials to close Interstate 84 to the Columbia River Gorge, and regional transit agency TriMet suspended all bus service and trains in the region.
TriMet spokeswoman Tia York urged people to avoid all travel unless it is an emergency. “It’s too dangerous,” York wrote in a statement.
Salem, Oregon police also warned residents in Marion and Polk counties to monitor falling power lines and falling tree ends, and Oregon state police said the fallen trees blocked several roads in the region.
Some Washington state residents were also taken aback by the weather, with snow falling throughout the Seattle region on Saturday morning and icy rain falling along the coast in Grays Harbor County. The city of Seattle activated the emergency operations center Saturday morning to coordinate the response to the city’s winter storms.
Heavy snowfall also caused dangerous driving conditions in parts of eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho, with Malheur (Oregon) and Boise (Idaho) counties expected to receive up to 15 inches of snow on Saturday afternoon.
The National Weather Service said the three states should prepare for a new winter moisture wave that would affect Sunday night in the northwest, which could lead to heavier snowfall through Monday. “Unstable winter conditions” would likely continue throughout the week, the National Weather Service said Saturday morning.
He expected Western Washington to receive an additional 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) of snow on Saturday, with another 5 inches (5 cm) possible on Sunday and Monday. The rain that falls on the accumulated snow raised the possibility of urban flooding on Sunday night or Monday in some areas, according to the National Meteorological Service.
Heavy snow caused dangerous avalanche conditions in many areas of the Olympic Ranges and Waterfalls, with possible major avalanches. Officials at the Payette Avalanche Center in west central Idaho also warned of an increased risk of avalanches in the coming days.
Residents of Idaho, in the east, were blown away by a brutally cold climate, with the National Weather Service warning of dangerous warming winds in Montana and Wyoming. Wind chills were expected to reach 50 degrees below zero in Billings and near Missoula, Montana, and almost as low in some parts of Wyoming.
Chills that can cause frostbite on exposed skin in minutes. The bitter cold was expected to last all weekend.
The National Weather Service warned that wind cooling could be dangerous for pets and young livestock, at a time when the calving season is beginning for many ranchers.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center also warned of dangerous avalanche conditions in areas around Apsen, Steamboat and Flat Tops, Grand Mesa and Gunnison. Refrigeration temperatures with sub-zero lows were expected to last through Monday morning in Denver and the Colorado plains, according to the National Weather Service.
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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.