Oregon
Eugene, Lane County winter weather to continue with cold ahead of more freezing rain
As Eugene and the rest of Willamette Valley attempt to dig out from a long weekend of snow and ice and frigid temperatures, weather forecasts were predicting a much-needed dose of clear sky for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
On the other hand, temperatures were expected to barely reach above freezing and residents were already bracing themselves for what could be another round of freezing rain on the horizon.
With the rough weather still taking its toll on the region, here are the latest updates from Eugene and the surrounding region:
The weather is expected to be cold and dry through early Tuesday when a low-pressure system from the southwest is forecast to bring freezing rain into Wednesday.
High temperatures are anticipated to return to the upper 40s or low 50s on Wednesday, with rain in the Willamette Valley and snow in the Cascades, for the rest of the week.
A total of 0.2 to 0.3 inches of ice is forecast Tuesday in the central and southern Willamette Valley. The ice is expected to begin in the morning and last into the evening. It’s less than Saturday’s ice totals that reached a half-inch in some places, but enough to have widespread impact.
“We’ll definitely have some possibility of power outages, tree damage and slippery roads,” said Jacob Hall with the National Weather Service in Portland. “The good news is that we’re not forecasting strong winds.”
Late Sunday, tens of thousands of Oregonians in the northwestern part of the state were without power and a multitude of highways and roads were closed, due to fallen trees and power lines.
Wind and snow and ice downed trees and power lines across northwestern Oregon over the weekend, knocking out power and prompting the closure of numerous roads.
Portland General Electric said tree limbs and debris brought down more than 816 of its distribution power lines and damaged multiple transmission lines.
“Given the extent of the damage and the high level of outage events, restoration efforts will continue into the week and customers are encouraged to plan accordingly,” PGE said in a statement.
- Lane Transit District: Bus services are suspended until further notice.
- Lane Community College: Closed until further notice. The men’s and women’s basketball games against Chemeketa Community College have been postponed.
- City of Eugene Parks: Immediate closure, caution advised near trees.
- Eugene Airport: Numerous flight cancellations and delays.
- University of Oregon Campus: Closing at 8 p.m. Saturday, reopening at 10 a.m. Monday. The Women’s Basketball game will be played but will be closed to the public.
- Willamalane Parks: Closed until further notice.
- PeaceHealth: All specialty clinics, walk-in clinics, and urgent care will be closed tomorrow. Most elective surgeries will be rescheduled. Other hospital operations will continue.
- Cascade Health: closed today and tomorrow except for the Pete Moore Hospice House.
- Willamette Valley Cancer Institute and Research Ctr.: Closed Monday.
- Slocum Orthopedics: Closed today and tomorrow.
- MLK Jr. Marches: Both the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march planned in Eugene and the one planned in Springfield are canceled.
- Deerhorn Road: Closed west of Booth Kelly Road due to falling trees and downed power lines.
- McKenzie View Drive: Closed due to falling trees.
- OR-126: Closed from Poodle Creek Road, Cheshire to Indian Creek Road, Swisshome due to hazardous trees or vegetation.
- OR-36: Closed from Poodle Creek Road, Cheshire to Indian Creek Road, Swisshome due to hazardous trees or vegetation.
- OR-99: Closed from E Saginaw Road to Lynx Hollow Road due to hazardous trees or vegetation.
- Marcola Road: closed from Bowman Road to County Line Road due to fallen trees.
- Territorial Highway: closed south of milepost 42 due to fallen trees.
- While not closed, state officials have warned of multiple crashes due to icy conditions on I-5 from miles 167-172 (Cottage Grove area)
The Egan Warming Centers will be open tonight and tomorrow night and they will remain open until 11 a.m. tomorrow morning instead of the usual 8 a.m. All sites are accessible to people with disabilities and to pets.
Egan Warming Center locations are:
- Springfield Memorial Building
- 765 A St, Springfield
- Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
- Transportation Hub at First Christian Church
- 1166 Oak Street, Eugene
- Shuttles will run from 6 p.m. to midnight
- Trinity United Methodist Church
- 440 Maxwell Road, Eugene
- Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
- South Hills at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection
- 3925 Hilyard St, Eugene
- Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
- Wheeler Pavilion at Lane Events Center
- 796 W 13th Ave, Eugene
- Doors open at 10 p.m., a late opening
The Egan program is also seeking donations of gloves and blankets. It is looking for about 200 blankets and as many gloves as people can donate. People willing to travel are asked to bring donations to 888 Garfield Street in Eugene.
Watch the ice storm arrive in Eugene
A time-lapse of from Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 afternoon until Saturday morning as a layer of snow and ice coat Eugene’s College Hill Neighborhood.
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management activated the State Emergency Coordination Center for state agencies and nonprofit partners to share life safety resources, including activating 211 to support warming shelters in several counties.
“If you or someone you know needs a place to stay warm, call 211 or visit 211info.org to find open warming centers in your area; 211 also offer and coordinate transport services to and from warming centers,” the agency said.
Emergency Management encouraged people to stay home, stay informed, have an emergency plan and stock an emergency kit.
Oregonians can sign up for local emergency alerts at oralert.gov If you have moved, you should update your information.
The agency said a basic emergency supply kit in case the power goes out includes the following items:
- Enough water for one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation.
- Several days’ supply of non-perishable, easy-to-eat food such as peanut butter, protein and granola bars, jerky, nuts, fruit, pretzels, crackers, beans and rice.
- A manual can opener.
- A battery-powered or hand crank radio or a weather radio.
- A flashlight with extra batteries.
- A first-aid kit.
- Sleeping bags or warm blankets.
NW Natural on Saturday evening asked customers to conserve gas during the storm “by lowering thermostats as much as you can comfortably and safely manage,” minimizing hot water usage and turning off non-essential appliances, to help prevent strain on utility systems.
“We are seeing increased usage by utility customers across our region due to frigid temperatures, which are expected to continue into next week,” NW Natural said in the notice to customers.
Modest efforts to conserve gas “can make a big impact in helping the entire energy system navigate this extreme weather event,” said Kim Rush, NW Natural’s chief operations officer.
Rush said the company’s gas system is operating safely at full capacity and field teams ready to respond to customer needs.
WEST LINN, Ore. (KOIN) — For some 30 years, locals and boaters along a popular spot on Oregon’s Willamette River have been staring at a 50,000-plus-square-foot home, unsure of what to think.
It’s unfinished, fenced in, and the open-air structure towers over 31 acres that include 2,700 feet of prime riverfront in an area affectionately called “Peach Cove.”
“Being a kid, I would drive the boat and look at it from the river,” said Jason Mendell.
The high-profile realtor never thought he’d actually list the home, yet now he’s fielding calls from all kinds of folks trying to figure out the property’s potential.
“Entrepreneurs, pro-athletes, business owners, and people trying to figure out what you could do with this,” he told Nexstar’s KOIN on a recent summer day.
The home’s specs are massive, and Mendell said if it’s ever completed, it would be the largest mansion in Oregon by far.
The listing includes nine bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, multiple garages for dozens of show cars and other toys. There’s a massive gymnasium or event space, too, which could include a full-size basketball court. Original plans called for two pools.
“There’s obviously only a certain amount of people that can afford a home like this, and they’ve got to have the vision to be able to finish it off,” says Mendell.
Ask around, though, and it doesn’t take long to learn there’s much more to the larger story.
“He said, ‘Would you like to build a home for me?’” says Tom Avgerakis.
The longtime home builder is referring to Mark Wattles, the founder and one-time boss of Hollywood Video, which grew to be the second-biggest video store chain in the country in the 1990s and 2000s.
Avgerakis remembers when Wattles first showed him the architectural sketches.
“He rolled them out, and I went ‘Oh, okay.’ The challenge was thrown out, and we can do it,” he said.
At first, Avgerakis said construction moved swiftly, with 50-plus workers on site moving dirt and using high-grade Oregon lumber to erect the frame.
Then, as 1996 became 1997, construction stalled, and “We anticipated a short amount of time off, but it just grew and grew and grew.”
He said that as the owner moved on to other businesses and eventually moved away, they kept up general maintenance and even planted acres of berries.
The property was eventually unloaded at auction, and it has changed hands a couple of times over the years, but no one has ever fully built it out.
“It’s a diamond in the rough. It’s just incredible,” said Avgerakis.
He hopes to be involved if the project is ever completed, and said much of the original woodwork remains in good condition even if other elements have deteriorated over the years. The current owner recently installed a new roof.
Mendell said they’re talking to potential buyers about “what could be,” whether it’s a private estate, high-end senior living facility or even a vineyard.
“It’s 31 acres of prime real estate that’s unique,” he said.
The asking price is $4.7 million.
The property is deemed Exclusive Farm Use (EFU), according to Clackamas County records.
A spokesperson told Nexstar’s KOIN that it’s approved for the one home but that anything like a larger care facility wouldn’t be allowed unless there was a zoning change.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Multiple illicit massage businesses in Washington County were shut down on Friday following action by multiple law enforcement agencies.
The Office of Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said it worked alongside Sherwood police, Tigard police, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office to execute multiple warrants at illicit massage businesses.
Following months of surveillance into two of the illegal massage parlors in Sherwood, investigators conducted searches at four locations in total on Friday: a home in Southwest Portland, Goji Foot Spa and Aroma Spa in Sherwood, and Tigard’s Sunny Massage.
More than $45,000 of cash and evidence of prostitution was seized during the operation. Three people were also arrested for alleged prostitution-related charges and two were cited for operating a massage business without a license.
The investigation was carried out as part of the Oregon Department of Justice’s partnership with Washington County law enforcement agencies through the program Special Projects: Investigate, Respond, Enforce.
Ryan Reynolds on John Candy’s prideful vulnerability
Ryan Reynolds reflects on John Candy’s mix of pride and vulnerability in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” The actor produces “John Candy: I Like Me.”
Entertain This!
The Aviation American Gin Distillery and visitor center in Portland, Oregon, has closed its doors as the company behind the celebrity-backed spirits brand shifts its production strategy, according to multiple reports.
Diageo, the global spirits company that acquired Aviation American Gin in 2020, confirmed the closure to local TV stations KGW and KOIN, saying the decision was made because of changing business needs.
“This decision reflects evolving business needs, as we continue to support growth ambitions for our Aviation American Gin brand,” Diageo’s statement reads. “Aviation American Gin remains an important part of Diageo’s portfolio and we are committed to the brand, our customers and consumers.”
USA TODAY contacted Diageo on July 9 for comment and additional information regarding the closure.
The nearly 33,000-square-foot facility opened in September 2022 in northwest Portland, offering visitors a cocktail bar, tasting room, gift shop and tours highlighting the gin-making process, including distillation and bottling operations.
Portland’s House Spirits Distillery founded Aviation American Gin in the early 2000s and later became associated with Emmy Award-winning actor Ryan Reynolds, who acquired a stake in the company in 2018.
“A little over two years ago, I became an owner of Aviation Gin because I love the taste of Aviation more than any other spirit,” Reynoalds said in a statement in 2020 after Diageo acquired the company. “What I didn’t expect was the sheer creative joy learning a new industry would bring. Growing the brand with my company, Maximum Effort Marketing, has been among the most fulfilling projects I’ve ever been involved with.”
Is Ryan Reynolds still a co-owner of Aviation Gin?
As of July 9, Reynolds remains an owner of Aviation Gin, according to his social media accounts. His Instagram says he owns Aviation Gin, Mint Mobile, Maxixum Effort and the Wrexham A.F.C. soccer club.
When Diageo acquired Aviation Gin, the acquisition agreement valued the deal at up to $610 million, including an initial payment of $335 million and a potential additional payment of up to $275 million based on the company’s performance over a 10-year period, according to a 2020 news release.
Diageo, one of the world’s largest spirits companies, also owns other alcohol brands including Captain Morgan, Crown Royal and Smirnoff.
What’s next for Aviation, Diageo?
Diageo said it had already begun moving Aviation’s production from Portland to other facilities in 2025 as part of an effort to improve efficiency and strengthen its North American operations, KGW reported.
Diageo also said Aviation American Gin will remain part of its portfolio despite the closure of the Oregon visitor center and distillery.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT
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