PORTLAND, Ore. — The greater Portland area was hit Tuesday night with a second round of winter weather after below-freezing temperatures arrived late last week, this time bringing more freezing rain and ice.
Roads became slick quickly Tuesday night due to freezing rain and stayed treacherous Wednesday even as the freezing rain stopped and temperatures began to rise. Travelers are advised to continue to stay off the roads until the iced-over roads have thawed.
KGW Meteorologist Rod Hill said the Portland metro area saw around a quarter-inch of ice accumulation, with Portland seeing 0.23 inches and Vancouver 0.21 inches. Further south got a half-inch or more, with Salem recording 0.49 inches and Corvallis 0.68 inches.
The region is expected to gradually warm throughout the day on Wednesday, starting with areas getting east wind flow from the Columbia River Gorge, marking the end of the storm and heralding in mild and rainy weather. Temperatures in Portland crept above freezing around midday Wednesday.
The Portland Bureau of Transport (PBOT), as of Wednesday night, urges "the public to avoid travel tonight and Thursday morning, as forecast potential freezing rain returns tonight and Thursday night, creating hazardous travel conditions."
Storm-related deaths
There have been at least 10 deaths related to winter weather conditions in the Portland metro area over the past week.
On Wednesday morning, three people died and a fourth was injured when power lines fell on an occupied vehicle in Northeast Portland, Portland Fire & Rescue confirmed. Officials said a tree branch fell on power lines, bringing them down onto the car and electrocuting the people inside. All three people who died were adults, PF&R said, but a small child was taken to the hospital. The extent of the child's injuries are unknown.
At least five people have died due to suspected hypothermia: four in Multnomah County and one in Washington County. Officials haven't reported many details about the people who died, just that they died in Northeast Portland, Southeast Portland, North Portland and around the Central Eastside area. In Washington County, a Tigard resident was found dead in their home.
Two people died over the weekend due to downed trees or fires. On Saturday, a woman died when a tree fell on an RV parked in a Southeast Portland neighborhood, taking down power lines and sparking a fire. And in Lake Oswego, a man died after a tree fell on their home in the Southwood area.
In addition, two women died in a church fire on Sunday. Fire investigators told KGW they're looking into whether a generator played a role in starting the fire, but have not officially confirmed the cause.
Road conditions
Transportation agencies continue to urge residents to stay home and avoid travel until the region thaws out, which will hopefully start to happen Wednesday afternoon, though how long it will take for the ice to break up and melt away is hard to pin down.
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has opened I-84 through the Columbia River Gorge from Troutdale to Hood River, after it had been shut down for nearly 31 hours. Don Hamilton with ODOT had told KGW that the interstate was unlikely to reopen Wednesday.
"Remember that many other roads throughout the Gorge, the Portland area and the Willamette Valley could also see ice accumulating on roads," ODOT said. "We urge people to delay travel in the areas where the ice hits. If you must go out, have chains and know how to use them."
ODOT also warned of melting ice and snow turning into slush and wet pavement as temperatures rise. Some areas, such as in eastern Oregon, are still experiencing "persistent snow and ice" on the roads.
In Washington, SR-14 is closed in both directions from Gibbons Creek (just east of Washougal) to White Salmon.
U.S. 12 White Pass remains closed through Wednesday night.
In Multnomah County, Southeast Cochran Road between Northeast Centurion Place and South Troutdale Road is closed due to icy conditions. Also, Northeast 23rd Avenue between Northeast Sandy Boulevard and Northeast Townsend Way is closed due to a stuck semi-truck that is blocking the road. Drivers are asked to avoid the areas.
On Wednesday morning, a semi-truck jack-knifed on the St. Johns Bridge, blocking both lanes of traffic.
In Portland, more than 30 roads across the city are closed, including Southwest Taylors Ferry Road, which is shut down from Southwest 60th to 65th avenues due to multiple vehicles stuck on an icy road. See a full list of road closures in Portland.
Washington County activated all four of its snow zones Tuesday night, requiring traction devices on certain routes. Those include 175th Avenue between Scholls Ferry and Rigert roads, on Barnes Road from 118th Avenue east to the county line, Cornell Road from Cedar Hills Boulevard east to the county line, and Grabhorn Road between Farmington and Tile Flat roads.
Public transit
TriMet said it has restored partial service on the MAX Blue Line between Hatfield Government Center in Hillsboro and Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson Street Station in Southwest Portland, as of Wednesday evening. Except for Washington Park, shuttle buses are running in other stations, the agency added.
TriMet shut down the MAX Blue Line Tuesday night, hours after reopening it. All MAX lines remain suspended Wednesday. There is "very limited" shuttle bus service on all MAX lines, TriMet said Wednesday morning. Most bus lines are operating, though some are suspended due to road conditions and other are detoured. Check trimet.org/alerts for updates.
All buses and shuttles are running with heavy chains, which TriMet said limits them to 25 mph.
"With temperatures still below freezing and precipitation coming down as freezing rain across much of our service area, TriMet encourages those who can stay home this morning to do so," TriMet said in a news release Wednesday morning. "Roads and sidewalks are very slick, and we ask riders to take care and use caution when going to and from stops, stations and transit centers."
TriMet said Wednesday morning that WES is providing regular commuter rail service and LIFT paratransit service is providing medically necessary trips only.
Anyone can get a ride on TriMet buses to or from emergency warming shelters even if they are unable to pay through 12 p.m. Wednesday. Riders will not be turned away if they cannot afford fare on the way to or from a warming shelter, TriMet said.
Portland Streetcar halted service and returned streetcars to the yard on Tuesday night. "Plow crews are still working to break ice along the alignment. There is currently no timeline for when we may be able to start service today," Portland Streetcar said in a tweet Wednesday morning.
Power outages
Portland General Electric (PGE) continues to have significant outages Wednesday morning, despite marked improvements from the weekend. As of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, the company reported 1,029 active outages impacting 10,975 customers, down from about 24,000 customers Tuesday night and a peak of more than 165,000 during this winter storm.
PGE said that more than 1,700 personnel — including crews, mutual assistance and support staff — are working Wednesday to restore power "as quickly as safety allows," the highest number so far.
"Today, we expect to start seeing temperatures above freezing for the first time since last Friday. While these conditions will reduce the likelihood of further outages, PGE crews continue to face challenging conditions in the field that can delay restoration efforts, such as downed trees and icy roads," PGE said in a news release. "A small percentage of customers may continue to be without power as crews work to access these more difficult areas, assess damage, and restore power. Customer service agents are working to proactively call customers without an estimated restoration time to check in, provide updates and individual information."
Power has been restored to more than 155,000 PGE customers since Saturday. The company said its crews have replaced nearly 150 power poles, repaired 175 transformers, fixed over 200,000 feet of distribution lines, repaired 13 of the 14 substations and 67 of the 69 feeders that were damaged.
Pacific Power is reporting widespread outages mostly around Eugene, south of Salem and east of Lincoln City. Nearly 14,000 customers were without power as of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
"A second wave of extreme weather impacts has caused additional outages in some areas, including Albany, Cottage Grove and Sweet Home," said Pacific Power around 2:30 p.m. The company added that they are dealing with equipment damage due to snow, ice and fallen trees.
Pacific Power said that they "anticipate most customers will have service restored by Tuesday evening, but some customers in Cottage Grove and Sweet Home may see outages into Wednesday and possibly Thursday."
Clark Public Utilities reported almost 2,500 customers without power as of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Closures and delays
Most local school districts and other institutions decided to close Wednesday due to continued weather impacts. Portland Public Schools and the Beaverton School District have both decided to close, and more closure announcements and updates continue to come in Wednesday morning.
Portland Community Colleges (PCC) has announced that in-person classes and operations are canceled Thursday, with no plans for remote and online classes.
All City of Portland offices and non-essential facilities are closed Thursday.
The Hillsboro Community Senior Center will remain closed on Thursday, the city said. All other facilities will open at 10 a.m., but essential and remote services are continuing.
Clark County offices will be closed Thursday and Wednesday, including the "Joint Lobby, which provides in-person services for the Treasurer, Auditor and Assessor’s offices," according to a press release.
State officials said Tuesday that at least nine Oregon State Parks have closed or partially closed due to ice, snow and downed trees along the north coast and Willamette Valley. Visitors are encouraged to check park pages on the state park website before visiting as well as local forecasts and TripCheck for road conditions.
Multnomah County offices and services will not open until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, which the county said will allow them to keep warming shelters open until mid-morning and delay travel to those locations until later. This includes libraries, clinics and animal services.
With the exception of facilities operating as shelters, all Portland Parks & Recreation facilities are closed Wednesday, and all classes and activities canceled. This is part of an overall closure by the city of Portland due to continued winter weather impacts.
Oregon Humane Society's Portland and Salem campuses, which include Community Veterinary Hospital at OHS's Portland campus, will be closed Wednesday. All appointments will be rescheduled, and training classes in Portland and Salem are canceled, the Oregon Humane Society said Tuesday.
Emergency declarations
Late Tuesday night, Gov. Tina Kotek issued an emergency declaration for just Lane County to support the county's response and recovery following the ice storm. She said it came at the request of Lane County commissioners.
"Lane County has suffered extensive damage as a result of the winter storm conditions that we’re seeing across Oregon," Kotek said in a statement. "This emergency declaration will support the county in accessing critical federal resources to aid in reconstruction and recovery efforts. My office is monitoring the ongoing weather conditions and will continue to support local communities in their response and recovery efforts."
In their declaration, Lane County commissioner cited extensive storm impacts, including damage to infrastructure and electric utilities that appear to meet the threshold for a federal declaration.
Kotek's office noted that Multnomah County, Lincoln County, Washington County, Hood River County and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians have also each declared local states of emergency and are also receiving support from the state.
"They do not currently require the additional assistance that a state emergency declaration unlocks, but (the Office of Emergency Management) continues to coordinate closely with all local emergency managers," Kotek's office said. "Additional jurisdictions will be added to the declaration if doing so will expedite recovery resources."
A full list of warming shelters across the state can be found here. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has published resources for winter storms here and recognizing and avoiding carbon monoxide poisoning here.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more details as they emerge.