07:35 AM PST on Thursday, January 8, 2004

By ABE ESTIMADA, ANTONIA GIEDWOYN, and TERESA BELL, kgw.com Staff

A thin sheet of water covers the ice over many roads in Portland and Vancouver and some areas are also seeing more freezing rain, causing extremely slick conditions that continue to paralyze the metro area and the airport Thursday morning.

All semi-trucks are required to use chains in the Portland area now and chains are also recommended for regular vehicles. Many truckers just decided just to wait out the thaw anyway, parking along area roads.

Conditions for public transporation have improved Thursday morning. MAX service was restored for passengers on Portland's eastside and shuttle buses are still serving all other MAX stations.

More freezing rain pellets area Thursday

Freezing rain started falling again in the Portland-Vancouver metro area Thursday morning, and was quite heavy at the airport. Just before 7 a.m., Portland International Airport officials announced they were closing PDX for the rest of the day.

A winter storm warning remains in effect for the Portland and Vancouver metro areas, as well as the western Columbia River Gorge through Friday.

Snow and ice cover a pickup truck parked in a Molalla neighborhood. (Photo from kgw.com viewer Mike McGarry)

Parts of the Portland metro area, particularly in the south and western suburbs, began to thaw out Wednesday after the worst snow storm in a decade hammered the region with nearly a foot of snow the day before.

But on the east side of the Portland metro area closest to the Columbia Gorge, a layer of ice and snow remained on the ground as the east winds continued to pipe frigid air through the area Wednesday.

A view of the north shore of the Columbia River with the I-5 bridge in the background. (kgw.com viewer photo/Jack Cain)

North and east of the Portland-Vancouver metro area, the chances of freezing rain are increased. But south and west of the region, the chances of freezing rain are diminished, Zaffino said. The region should see a noticeable thawing by Friday.

"There's a big ray of hope, a lot of warming and some sunshine, but it's on the weekend," Zaffino said.

School closures

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		List of closures, cancellations

Portland Public Schools, West Linn-Wilsonville, Lake Oswego and Battle Ground, Wash. schools will be closed Thursday, and Estacada schools announced they would be closed for the rest of the week.

Portland schools will close for a third day in a row due to bad weather.

PDX shuts down runways

Portland International Airport officially closed PDX just before 7 a.m. Thursday morning. They said the earliest flights may possibly leave the airport is 5 a.m., Friday.

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		Check PDX flight times

Cracking ice and rain freezing on top of the icepack made the runways too dangerous for planes, said Steve Schreiber, aviation director for the Port of Portland.

“It’s just not safe for aircraft to operate for a period of time,” Schreiber said.

Lufthansa Airlines flight No. 469, however, was able to depart Wednesday afternoon.

Stranded traveler Cailin Perry, of Gresham, sleeps on her bags while waiting for word concerning her flight at Portland International Airport. (AP Photo)

The Memphis Grizzlies, whose game with the Blazers was postponed on Tuesday night, took a bus to Seattle to catch flight out of the Northwest. The Grizzlies were stranded for much of Wednesday in Portland.

Ice leads to power outages

PGE reported a total of 35,000 customers without power early Thursday morning, down from a peak of 58,000 the day before. Outages were concentrated in the Salem-Keizer area, Oregon City, Estacada, east Multnomah County and the Highway 26 corridor.

Crashing trees weighed down by ice took out about 300 lines around the region.

PGE lineman work to restore power. (KGW Photo)

Also, about 5,700 Pacific Power customers were without electricity early Thursday morning and about 6,000 Clark Public Utilities' customers were without service in southwest Washington. Outages were being reported in the Vancouver area, including the Grand Boulevard, Ellsworth, and MacLoughlin Heights areas. There are also customers in the Hockinson area without power.

YMCA roof in Portland collapses

The cold has taken its toll in Portland and in Oregon.

A tarp covers a section of roof that collapsed over the pool at the YMCA on Barbur Blvd. in Portland. (KGW Photo)

“I walked by and there was a bug bubble for a roof over the swimming pool and it was collapsed. Part of it was ripped and then I went over and I smelled gas, so I called 911,” said witness Marge Lee.

Another water main broke along Macadam Road on Wednesday, the third one to burst in the city due to cold weather.

In Union, three-year-old Adrian Carter died of hypothermia after he sneaked outside to play in the snow early Tuesday. The Oregonian reported that the boy's father noticed him missing at about 3:30 a.m., with the temperature sitting in the single digits. The boy was taken to a La Grande hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Dozens of boats, weighed down by ice, sank into the Willamette and the Columbia rivers and the Multnomah channel from the Scappoose area to the Portland area.

Ice worsens road conditions

Federal Express canceled all deliveries in the Portland area for the first time in at least a decade, according to company spokesman Anthony Hicks.

Truck drivers on Interstate 5 between the Marquam Bridge and Wilsonville were required to put chains on their rigs and carry them when they pass Wilsonville as they head south toward Salem. The Oregon Department of Transportation was recommending that motorists use traction devices on their cars.

"We are strongly encouraging motorists to carry their chains and be prepared to use them, or as a precaution, go ahead and put them on," said ODOT spokesman Shawn Uhlman.

The best advice for drivers, if they dare to venture out on Wednesday night, is to slow down.

"We ask folks to drive responsibly and be aware of their surroundings," Uhlman said. "If they're going out to be out and about, please drive as conditions dictate."

storm resources
		Road report
		Travel conditions
		Power outages and closures
		Latest weather warnings
		Tri-Met schedule
		C-Tran schedule, Clark County, Wash.

City of Portland to go back to work

Portland Mayor Vera Katz announced Wednesday afternoon that city employees will report to work on Thursday and said employees will show up earlier in the morning.

"Tri-Met will be running buses at nearly full complement, MAX is likely to be more operational, and streets will be better prepared with plowing, sanding and de-icing," Katz said. "I do suggest that employees give themselves extra time so they can arrive at work safely."

Oregon State University in Corvallis remained closed Wednesday for a second day.

Nike officials told all Beaverton campus employees to stay home on Wednesday. It’s the first time the campus has closed due to snow.

The Freightliner Headquarters and Freightliner Manufacturing Plant also closed, along with the Cascade General Shipyard, Pioneer Place, and Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield on Wednesday.

A third water main in the Macadam Avenue in the Miles Street area burst on Wednesday morning, spilling up to 700 gallons of water a minute. The water has flooded a nearby garage.

Amtrak helps, stalls

Amtrak ferried stranded airline passengers to California, Seattle, to Chicago via Spokane.

But the snow also stopped a northbound Amtrak train overnight in Vancouver, across the Columbia River from Portland.

"They said we were going to make it, but we didn't," train passenger Ron Gregory, 49, of Chelan, said in a telephone interview. "We sat in Vancouver for 12 hours."

The train eventually returned to Portland and waited for another Amtrak train to carry the passengers onto Seattle. Gregory, however, decided to take the bus from Portland to Seattle.

Tri-Met disrupted

For the second day in a row, MAX light-rail lines were shut down Wednesday due to ice build-up on the tracks and overhead wires. Buses equipped with chains shuttled passengers along the MAX line from Hillsboro to Gresham.

A MAX train tries to run through downtown Portland. (kgw.com viewer photo/DRB Photo by Ty LaCroix)

Riders should also be extra cautious around moving buses that could slide before coming to a complete stop. Some chains on buses snapped on Wednesday because of overwork.

Westbound MAX riders in the central business and Lloyd districts can catch MAX shuttle buses at the N-Fish bus stop at SW 6th Ave. and Yamhill Street.

Eastbound MAX riders can catch the shuttle at the W-Deer bus stops at SW 5th Ave. and Morrison Street.

Clark County's C-VAN, which serves people who are disabled, will only provide life sustaining transportation for dialysis and cancer treatments on Thursday.

Other road closures

Some major freeways and off-ramps around Oregon and southwest Washington remained slippery:

-- Motorists were urged to use chains for driving on all Portland-area freeways.

-- Roads in the north part of Clackamas County began to freeze with the drop in temperature on Wednesday night. Roads in this area, including main roads, were extremely icy. Side roads used less often throughout the rest of the county also began icing up again. Sanding crews planned to be out through the night.

Downed trees and power lines on roadways are also posing an extreme hazard throughout the county, Clackamas officials said. The Clackamas County roads department planned to be out Wednesday night responding to these situations.

-- Interstate 84 through the Columbia River Gorge from Troutdale to Hood River remained closed and the freeway scoured by ice blown by powerful Gorge winds. ODOT doesn't expect to open the freeway until sometime Thursday.

"Mother Nature rules," said ODOT spokesman Dave Thompson. "She'll give it back when she wants to."

-- Washington transportation officials will keep state route 14 between Washougal and the Bridge of the Gods open Wednesday to passenger cars with chains. But no trucks over 10,000 pounds are allowed between Washougal and Bingen.

-- Trucks over 10,000 pounds are not allowed on State Route 14 in Clark County from Washougal east, and all other vehicles in this same area must wear chains.

-- Trucks over 10,000 pounds are not allowed on State Route 14 through Skamania county, and all other vehicles must wear chains.

-- I-5 through Cowlitz County has compact snow and ice.

-- In Klickitat County, U.S. Highway 97 is closed because of a collision involving a semi-truck.

-- In Lewis County, U.S. Highway 12 from I-5 to Mossyrock, state route 6 and state route 508 are bare and wet with some areas of slush.

-- In Pacific County, higher temperatures melted ice on U.S. 101, state route 6 and state route 4.

-- Johnson Creek Boulevard is closed east of SE 92nd Avenue in Portland.

-- U.S. Highway 26 has re-opened near Sandy after being blocked by downed trees.

-- U.S. Highway 26 about ten miles from the coast has re-opened.

-- Oregon State Highway 35 near Hood River was re-opened Wednesday afternoon, but chains on trucks are required.

-- Oregon State Highway 22 east of Salem re-opened Wednesday after being closed by a mudslide on Tuesday.

-- Downed trees blocked Oregon State Highway 18 east of Salem, but the road was re-opened by Wednesday evening.

-- Highway 20 east of Newport was re-opened by noon Wednesday after being closed for much of the morning and Tuesday night.

-- Highway 224 between Carver and Barton southeast of Portland re-opened Wednesday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.