SALEM, Ore. — Senior facilities and communities in Marion County are being hit especially hard after the ice storm.
Some people have been without power and heat since last Friday or Saturday.
For people who don’t have electricity days after the ice storm in Marion County, it’s been frustrating because they haven’t been given a time frame for when power might be restored.
Melissa Alberda lives with and takes care of her 95-year-old grandmother, Betty Guild, whose home is located in a Woodburn senior living community. All the residents are 55 years old and up.
“We’ve lost everything in the fridge. We’ve lost everything in the freezer,” said Alberda over the phone.
“It’s less than 50 degrees in the house. There’s a temperature gauge in the garage and the garage is no warmer than the house, and it was down to almost 45 yesterday.”
All she and her grandmother can do is bundle up, trying to stay warm as they wait for the power to turn on.
Some senior facilities have also been dealing with tough situations.
Sue Miller is the executive director at Meadow Creek Village Assisted Living in Salem. Her facility, which has about 30 seniors, lost power Friday night. The generator kicked in, then it failed.
“We are still out of electricity,” said Miller on Tuesday.
Miller reached out to the United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley. The nonprofit provided donations that included batteries, heaters, water and blankets.
Then, Elizabeth Schrader got on Facebook to post about the facility’s need for a generator.
“I said, 'hey this is an urgent need right now. We need someone who can either repair a generator or we need an industrial size [generator],'” Schrader said.
At the same time, a nurse at the senior facility was able to get in touch with Emery & Sons, a construction company that focuses on underground utilities.
“Luckily we had large generators here in our yard, so that was lucky because we don’t always have them sitting around,” said Chad Stultz with Emery & Sons Construction Group.
“We just decided to throw it on the truck and drive over there, and get it there,” Stultz said.
The generators are being used to help heat a central space for the seniors. But Miller said because of the age of the building, Meadow Creek still doesn’t have electricity.
Schrader said someone familiar with generators reached out because of the Facebook post and plans to head over to the facility to take a look at what they can do to help.
Meantime, Miller said she’s grateful for her staff and the many others in the community who have also stepped up to help.
She said Courthouse Club Fitness on Commercial Street in Salem offered residents at the senior facility an opportunity to take warm showers.
“We’ll be loading up our bus and taking some of our residents up to get a hot shower,” said Miller.
In addition, Miller said Mill Creek Café has allowed facility staff to use their kitchen to cook and do dishes.
“They really have provided us a godsend, literally,” Miller said.
While Miller is grateful for the community that has come together to help Meadow Creek Village Assisted Living, she, Alberda and many others still have questions about when the power will be restored.
“I think PGE has probably blocked my number,” said Miller.
“We just need information on how long this is going to go on,” Alberda said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, PGE spokesperson Steven Corson said the company had about 55,000 customers without power. That number doesn’t include people who are customers of Pacific Power.
Corson said PGE is unable to give any reliable estimate for when power will be restored due to all the damage they’ve got to deal with.
As for prioritization, Corson said first they’ve got to take care of places like water treatment plants, hospitals and fire stations.
Nursing homes and assisted care facilities are of concern too and he said if they contact PGE, PGE will gather important information and have a conversation about backup plans.