More than 100,000 Oregon homes and businesses were still without electricity on Monday morning, as the National Weather Service warned of more challenging conditions to come.
A wind advisory is in effect for the Portland metro area through 10 a.m. Tuesday, and the National Weather Service warned that more trees could fall, prompting further power failures. Snow and sleet are expected to arrive just as the highest winds die down on Tuesday, contributing further to already hazardous conditions, according to forecasts.
The weather agency also issued a winter storm watch for the Coast Range of northwest and central Oregon, warning that fresh ice accumulation, especially on the east side of mountain crests, could down trees and lead to new power outages through the day on Tuesday.
A tree fell across a car at Southwest Taylor Street near 90th Avenue in Portland, as seen on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2024.
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Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
A fallen tree on Noreast Everett near 23rd, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
/ OPB
A tree fell near Southeast Eighth Avenue and Miller Street in Sellwood, and left several people without power on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2024.
/ OPB
A fallen tree near Laurelhurst Park in Northeast Portland on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
Nick Warren / OPB
Crews with Davey Tree work to clear fallen trees near the intersection of Northwest Lee Street and Northwest Flotoma Drive in Portland on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
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Crews with Davey Tree work to clear fallen trees near the intersection of Northwest Lee Street and Northwest Flotoma Drive in Portland on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Trees fell near Northwest Lee and Northwest 104th in Portland. This photo was taken on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Utility workers in in Portland on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Crews work to clear downed power lines across Cedar Hills Boulevard at Ridge Avenue in Beaverton on Jan. 14, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Crews work to clear downed power lines across Cedar Hills Boulevard at Ridge Avenue in Beaverton on Jan. 14, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
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Crews work to clear downed power lines across Cedar Hills Boulevard at Ridge Avenue in Beaverton on Jan. 14, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
A bus on Southeast 52nd Avenue just north of Holgate in Portland, Ore. Trimet buses were all equipped with chains on Jan. 14, 2024.
Julie Sabatier / OPB
A view of the downtown Portland waterfront on Jan. 14, 2024.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
A view of the downtown Portland waterfront on Jan. 14, 2024.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
Snowy scenes from south Salem, Ore., on Jan. 14, 2024.
Natalie Pate / OPB
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Snowy scenes from south Salem, Ore., on Jan. 14, 2024.
Natalie Pate / OPB
A sheen of ice covered the Deschutes River in Bend on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
/ OPB
Since extreme cold spread across much of Oregon on Friday, hundreds of downed trees have been reported across the state. At least four people may have died of weather-related causes. And more than 1,000 power company employees have been engaged in the effort to restore electricity.
For a time, more than 200,000 locations were without power across the state. Portland General Electric and Pacific Power have warned that some of their customers could face prolonged outages.
Nearly every Oregon highway has been affected by challenging conditions over the past few days, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation, which encouraged drivers to limit travel, and to expect delays and bring emergency supplies when taking to the road.
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At least four deaths may be tied to cold, falling trees
The Multnomah County medical examiner’s office said on Sunday it is investigating two suspected hypothermia deaths in Portland. One person died Friday in inner Northeast Portland and the other died Saturday in Portland’s 97217 zip code, officials said on Sunday. Both people who died are male, and confirmation on each cause of death will take weeks or months, the county said in a press release. No other details were released.
Separately, Portland Fire & Rescue said a person died after a tree fell, hitting an RV, a power pole and a transformer, which affected their ability to help. Firefighters struggled to respond as they worked around downed electrical wires and found the nearest hydrant was not working, likely due to ice. Three people escaped the RV alive, but a fourth, a woman in her early 30s, was trapped by the fallen RV and died inside. A fire investigator determined the people in the RV were using an open flame stove to keep warm when the tree fell, causing the RV to catch fire.
And in Lake Oswego, a tree crashed through the second floor of a house in the Southwood neighborhood, killing an older man who was inside, according to officials there.
Numerous houses, power lines damaged by trees
Topher Sinkinson was eating breakfast at his Southeast Portland home Saturday when a tree crashed into his roof, sending piles of insulation into his house.
The fallen tree landed on live power lines operated by Portland General Electric, and Sinkinson said the power lines must be removed before crews can remove the tree.
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“I think with the power lines being against the house and being in the tree the way that they are, it’s a little scary for us to be here,” he said.
Topher Sinkinson reported that a tree crashed through his roof, but he could not remove it until Portland General Electric addressed power lines that were also knocked down.
courtesy of Topher Sinkinson
As of Sunday afternoon, Sinkinson said, he still could not reach PGE, and the tree remained on top of the house.
Lisa Tadewaldt, an arborist with Urban Forest Pro in Portland, told OPB that her business has been flooded with calls from people who had trees crash into their homes. It could be days before some trees are removed.
“The amount of trees on houses, it’s the most it’s ever been,” Tadewaldt said. “I don’t know what the insurance claim numbers are going to be, but they’re going to be high. It’s going to be insane.”
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City officials from Newport reported that a tree fell on a homeless camp, injuring at least one person, on Saturday. The coastal community saw reports of multiple additional injuries reported due to downed trees, and numerous streets blocked off by downed power lines.
Fallen trees have also hampered emergency response efforts, blocking roads and threatening police and fire crews as they work. While crews were responding to the fallen tree that killed a Lake Oswego man on Saturday, another tree fell onto a vehicle just two doors down, city officials said.
“Today, we have had at least around 20 different trees fall onto homes, which is very rare. I have never seen this many in my 25-year career here at Lake Oswego Fire,” Lake Oswego Fire Marshall Gert Zoutendijk said on Saturday.
The cold weather also strained Portland’s sewer system. The city’s largest pump station is only partially operating due to a frozen pipe, the Bureau of Environmental Services said in a press release sent Sunday.
Power failures have also affected the city’s main treatment plant and some of Portland’s 99 other pump stations.
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Portland’s largest sewage pump station, which serves downtown and the surrounding inner city, was under partial service due to a frozen pipe on Jan. 15, 2024. Officials said there was no public impact.
Courtesy of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
A backup generator near East Burnside and 105th Avenue froze on Saturday, sending sewage into about a dozen homes.
Officials said they hope to have repairs to the city’s biggest pump station complete by Tuesday night. If they don’t succeed, the city may have to ask residents to limit flushing and dishwashing — but officials don’t expect that will be necessary.
Warming shelters stay open, some school and event cancellations announced
With temperatures likely to remain below freezing in much of Northwest Oregon until Wednesday, and the threat of high winds and additional precipitation, officials have started to extend warming shelter hours and to announce cancellations for Monday and Tuesday.
Salem-Keizer Schools will be closed on Tuesday, and several smaller districts have also canceled classes.
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Multnomah County officials extended their shelter resources through at least 8 p.m. Monday, and Clackamas County staff said shelters there will stay open until at least Tuesday.
In Lincoln County, where one in five utility customers did not have electricity on Monday morning, several temporary warming shelters are in place, including one in Newport that officials said will stay open until power is restored.
Several Martin Luther King Jr. Day-related gatherings were canceled, including SOLVE’s Day of Service celebration and the racial justice group Don’t Shoot Portland’s annual Reclaim MLK March.
A number of transit agencies have reported cancelations or delays, including Oregon’s largest, the Portland metro area’s Trimet, which suspended all rail service due to weather conditions and said some buses have had to re-route because of road conditions.
CURRY COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV) – A Texas man wanted for child sex crimes was arrested in Curry County on Tuesday afternoon.
The Curry County Sheriff’s Office says Kenneth Leatherwood of Bastrop, Texas, was arrested with the help of Oregon State Police and U.S. Marshals just after 12:30 p.m.
Kenneth Leatherwood(Curry County Sheriff’s Office)
Leatherwood, who is accused of sex-related crimes involving a child in Texas, was reportedly found camping in a heavy wooded area near Lucas Lodge in Agness.
Investigators say Leatherwood has been on the run from Curry County law enforcement since June 16 after reports that he had been seen with a stolen car in the Agness area.
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Leatherwood was also believed to have stolen weapons with him.
His dog was also found and returned to the suspect’s family in good shape, according to the sheriff’s office.
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Fireworks are on sale in Oregon until July 6, but state and local rules limit where they can be used and what types are allowed.
In Portland, fireworks use and sales are banned year-round.
Fireworks are also banned on beaches and in state and national parks.
Statewide, fireworks that fly into the air, explode, act unpredictably or move more than 12 feet horizontally are illegal. Banned fireworks include sky lanterns, missiles, rockets, Roman candles, firecrackers, cherry bombs and M-80s.
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Fountains, sparklers, ground spinners and smoke devices are among the fireworks allowed under state rules.
Officials said people should not call 911 to report illegal fireworks. They said reports should go to the non-emergency line for the area.
First responders said there were 263 fires across Portland during last year’s fireworks season, and 27 were caused by fireworks.
For more details about fireworks regulation in Oregon, click here.
In Washington, fireworks sales legally begin Sunday and run through July 4.
GEARHART, Ore. (KATU) — Another gray whale washed up on the Oregon coast last week, this time in Gearhart, according to Seaside Aquarium.
The 41-foot-long male had been dead for months before washing up on the beach, Seaside Aquarium general manager Keith Chandler said.
He noted that there have been 19 total whale strandings or carcasses washing up on beaches just this year on the Oregon coast region.
The Cascadia Research Collective is reporting at least 30 on Washington coastline alone. | TIMELINE
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Of those deaths, more than half were at least partially attributed to malnutrition. That could have been the cause in more strandings, however, necropsies were not performed in roughly a dozen of the 30 strandings.
Chandler said strong wind from the west this year has been contributing to why coastal towns are seeing a lot of whales and other things washing up on shore. However he also noted that many of the Grey whales washed ashore were emaciated with necropsies showing signs of malnourishment.
“The food sources have been compromised. The warmer water means the nutrients that they’re getting aren’t as good, so the whole food chain is kind of not as healthy,” Chandler said.
He pointed to the warming waters with climate change as the main reason noting that warm water plankton–Grey Whale’s main food source–is thinner and has fewer nutrients than plankton in cooler waters.
Chandler says this whale will not have a necropsy done because of its level of decomposition.
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“The fresher ones, the team from Portland State [University] will come down and they’ll go in and do measurements, take samples and stuff, measurements of the internal organs. But on one this decayed, you won’t gain anything from it scientifically. And it’s just kind of a mess to do when they’re this rotten,” he said.
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You can report a whale stranding to the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network Hotline by calling 1-866-767-6114.