Crews Fight Downed Trees, Landslides to Restore Power to Oregon Coast

In all, 650 Pacific Power employees, along with 30 PGE crews, are deployed to work on these restorations.

Salem-News.com

(LINCOLN CITY, Ore. ) - Pacific Power reports that progress is being made in restoring outages in the coastal and valley areas, but they warn some people maybe without power for the next few days.

Both Astoria and Lincoln City operations personnel said that winds had subsided to a sufficient degree to allow restoration work to go on.

Significant outages remain, totaling 39,061 customers:

• 23,000 customers remain out in Clatsop County,
• 11,735 in Lincoln County
• 2,651 in Coos County
• 681 in Northern California (Crescent City & Yreka)
• 409 in Albany area

In all, 650 Pacific Power employees are deployed to work on these restorations. Crews have come from Central Oregon and Walla Walla as well Salt Lake City. In addition, about 30 crew members are on loan from Portland General Electric.

A continuing challenge is the tangled transportation grid between the valley and the coast.

Along U.S. Highway 30, afflicted with downed trees, landslides and high water, ODOT crews are escorting Pacific Power crews through the worst stretches to get the workers and the equipment where they are needed.

In Clatsop County, the Red Cross is opening shelters to provide food and lodging to those displaced by the storm. The largest of these is at Camp Rilea, which has its own generator and 1,100 beds.

Weather permitting, Tuesday morning Pacific Power will use helicopters to patrol the transmission lines for damage. Based on this information, utility managers will prioritize restoration efforts.

Estimates for Restoration:

With daylight, damage assessors and managers estimating the amount of work and time necessary to substantial restore the outages. At this time, a minimum of three to four days is estimated to substantially restore power to the hardest hit areas, Clatsop County and Lincoln City.

Pacific Power will make every effort to exceed these timeframes, but strongly recommends estimating three to four days for citizens to plan food, medical and other supplies.

Residents are recommended to contact local emergency service and medical providers if they have emergency circumstances.

Pacific Power also reinforces the caution to residents to stay indoors, avoid treed areas and always avoid downed power lines. Down lines should always be assumed to be live and very dangerous.

Because we believe that some outages could be of extended length and we encourage customers to prepare for that possibility by having warm layers of clothing, flashlights and battery operated radios, a hand operated can opener and supplies of non-perishable foods and bottled water all easily accessible.

As utility crews work to reenergize communities, customers are being asked to help ensure smooth restoration. Customers still without power can help by:

• Unplugging appliances, television and stereos and other electrical equipment around their homes. This will reduce the demand on the system as power is brought back on.
• Turning ON porch lights so crews can tell when power has been restored to particular areas.

Report outages by calling 1-877 LITES OUT (1-877-548-3768).