Latest Roundup of Closures, Openings and Delays in Oregon and SW Washington

(SALEM, Ore.) - We have been unable to keep up with the weather in the Northwest as our own facilities have been down. Here is the latest list of openings and closures in the area.

Schools are closed, so that aspect of our regional coverage will only come back up if weather is still questionable when the school year resumes.

Included in this report are Businesses, Counties and governmental regions, transportation and utilities. Changes may take place and we suggest contacting appropriate agency Websites for specific information. This information was posted between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM December 26th.

Intel: Intel is open for normal operations. It is Intel's intent to remain open during all regularly scheduled workdays regardless of weather conditions. Nevertheless, employees should use their own good judgment and assess their personal situation with regards to travel safety to and from the work site. Due to the large amount of snow and ice, some areas of the campuses have been barricaded off and are not to be used for driving and walking. Please respect these barricades for your own safety. Areas that are not barricaded will be maintained with gravel and sand placements; however please drive and walk carefully. (Effective tomorrow - Sat Dec 27th) UPDATE

Columbia County: Columbia County offices will open at 10:00 a.m. Columbia County Offices will be closing at 4:00 p.m. UPDATE

Multnomah County: Two of four temporary warming centers, located at Multnomah County East, 600 NE 8th Street, Gresham, and the Portland Foursquare Church at 1302 SE Ankeny in Portland, will be closed effective 7:00 am on Saturday, December 27. The temporary centers were opened by the City of Portland, City of Gresham and Multnomah County in response to the current winter storm. Volunteers from the Red Cross, other nonprofits and public employees staff the warming centers.

Two warming centers will remain open at night until warm temperatures return at the end of March 2009. One, for adults, is located in downtown Portland and is accessed from Transition Projects at 475 NW Glisan. Another, for families, is at 1435 NE 81st at Halsey.

The jurisdictions plan to close the temporary centers on Saturday because current and forecasted weather conditions do not meet the criteria for staying open. Agencies use certain criteria, including temperature and precipitation, to decide when the temporary warming centers are needed. They could be opened again this winter as weather conditions change.

Cherriots - Salem Keizer Transit: The following buses on snow routes: # 8, # 14, # 15 ON MINOR SNOW ROUTE, # 23 ON MINOR SNOW ROUTE. UPDATE

C-TRAN will be operating service today on a "Reduced Service Schedule". Specific route information can be viewed at www.c-tran.com. Due to continued adverse weather, C-TRAN has the following announcements for this afternoon's service:

EXPRESS ROUTES TO/FROM DOWNTOWN PORTLAND - Service for this afternoon will be a continuation from this morning's commute with service from the Light Rail Stations only. For all Express service on the I-5 corridor, service will be provided from the Delta Park/Vanport LRT Station. For all Express service on the I-205 corridor, service will be provided from the Parkrose LRT Station.

In addition, the Express routes will be consolidated just as they were for Tuesday and Wednesday earlier this week. This means that riders of the #134 and #199 will need to ride the #105 instead and it will serve Salmon Creek Park and Ride, 99th Street Transit Center, downtown Vancouver, and continute to the Delta Park/Vanport LRT Station.

C-TRAN's service frequency will be about 15 minutes from both LRT stations. For riders of the #190 Marquam Hill, this route will continue on the same snow detour it has been on for all of this week and today's trip will depart from the Delta Park/Vanport LRT Station at 4:30 p.m. today. The following local routes continue to have specific issues: 1) ROUTE #9 FELIDA CANCELLED - Until conditions improve

2) ROUTE #2 LINCOLN - Due to road conditions on Lincoln and at Bernie, this section of the route is closed. No service from W. 39th from Columbia and west of that location. Also using Hazel Dell Avenue instead of NW 9th Ave.

3) ROUTE #25 FRUIT VALLEY/ST. JOHNS - In Hazel Dell, the stops on 15th Avenue will not be served.

C-VAN, C-TRAN's paratransit service for riders with disabilities, will provide regular service for customers beginning tomorrow, December 27th, 2008.

All other routes not mentioned will be on regular route through the day, however, riders may experience weather related delays. C-TRAN will closely monitor conditions and provide updates as necessary. For further information, riders are encouraged to visit C-TRAN's web site at www.c-tran.com, or call C-TRAN Passenger Service at (360) 695-0123. UPDATE

Cowlitz County PUD: PUD line crews continue their work today to restore power to 550 customers in the Lewis River Valley, in the communities of Ariel and Cougar. PUD tree trimming contractors and line crews have been working in the area all day. The outage is complicated by a damaged cross country line in steep terrain, with waist high snow and many downed limbs and trees. At this time no other PUD customers are out of service. Power outages can be reported to Cowlitz PUD by calling (360) 423-2210 or WA toll free at (800) 631-1131. The PUD provides electric service to 48,000 customers in Cowlitz County, WA. UPDATE

PGE: PGE crews continue to make good progress restoring damage from the snow and ice storm, currently with approximately 9,000 customers without power. Since Friday, Dec. 19, crews have restored more than 397,000 outages and repaired 3,160 downed wires across the PGE service territory. A total of 285 PGE and contract crews will continue to work extended 16-hour shifts until all service has been restored. Higher elevations, hilly and remote areas are making the repair work difficult. PGE is employing snow plows and heavy equipment to reach those customers and downed lines, but it remains slow due to the poor driving conditions. If PGE customers are without power but their neighbors do have power, they should check the electrical connection at their building for damage. If any equipment other than the meter is damaged, they should call an electrician to make repairs. A list of PGE-approved electricians can be found at PortlandGeneral.com/powerback. UPDATE