STORM WATCH: Valley Rivers Reaching Flood Stages; Wind And Rain Causing Power Outages And Street Flooding

Highway 101 north of Florence is now CLOSED due to a mudslide.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM) - Here is the latest storm information from the Salem-News.com News Center. The National Weather Service office at McNary Field reports that nearly two inches of rain has fallen on the Salem-area since midnight. In Salem: Skyline Road at Joseph Street and Kuebler Blvd. Road CLOSED due to high water. Edgewater at Eola Drive and Capitol Manor. Road CLOSED due to high water. Marion Street at 13 Street. High water, Road OPEN. Fisher Road at Devonshire. High water, Road OPEN. 55th Ave NE Between Hennies & City of Turner. High Water. Gallon House Rd NE Between Downs Rd NE and Hobart Rd NE. High Water. Hazelgreen Rd NE Malleries Dairy. High Water. Old Mt Angel Hwy Between Hobart and Downs. High Water. Silverton Rd NE Between Westfield and Paradise Rd. High Water. The NWS reports that the Pudding River is forecasted to be near flood stage by 4:00 PM Wednesday. The North Santiam River is at 10.04 feet just below it’s flood stage of 11.04 feet. The Luckimute River in Linn and Polk counties is at 19.2 feet and is expected to rise over flood stage by 10:00 PM tonight. The Willamette River in Salem remains well below flood stage at 11.39 feet. Flood stage for the river is 28.0 feet. The number of power outages caused by the ongoing rainstorm has risen to about 700, due primarily to an outage in Turner, south of Salem, that has about 400 customers without power at this time. The cause of that outage is not yet determined, but is likely related to rain-soaked trees and tree limbs. Extra Portland General Electric crews have been called in overnight and have been successful at keeping the total number of outages low. (For comparison, about 8,000 customers were without power yesterday morning at the start of this storm front). The remaining outages are relatively small in size and are scattered throughout PGE's service territory. Outages are primarily due to the first heavy wind and rain storm of the season water logging trees and tree limbs, and bringing them down into power lines. A number of customers in remote or heavily-treed areas have been without power for extended periods. We appreciate their patience as crews wait for daylight in order to better assess the cause of the outages and safely move in and restore those customers to service. Crews will be working throughout the day to try to stay ahead of this rainstorm. Customers waking up and finding they are without power are reminded to call PGE at (503) 464-7777 (Portland), (503) 399-7717 (Salem), or (800) 544-1795 outside the Portland and Salem areas. Statewide Traffic Alerts: A large mudslide on U.S. 101 near Roosevelt Beach has closed both lanes of the coastal highway. The slide occurred about 7:00 AM Tuesday at Mile Post 174, roughly 20 miles south of Yachats. Initial reports indicate the slide is 30 wide and 30 feet deep. Oregon Department of Transportation crews are on the scene and awaiting the arrival of an excavator to begin clearing the debris. ODOT hopes to have the highway open by late afternoon on Tuesday. U.S. 101 south of Seaside (Beerman Creek area) is now restricted because of high standing water. No low profile vehicles allowed. Oregon 6 in Tillamook (MP 1) is now closed to all traffic because of high standing water. Oregon 6 (MP 4) closed multiple slides. Highway 53 in Clatsop and Tillamook counties is now closed by a slide. No estimate on re-opening. The Clackamas County Roads Division has been responding to a number of downed tree reports today. Clackamas County Roads Division officials say that for the most part roads in Clackamas County are in pretty good shape dispite the recent rain and wind. Localized flooding is occurring. Crews have reported that one lane of LoLo Pass Rd. near the intersection of Barlow Trail Rd. has washed out because of high water on the Sandy River. Workers are responding to the area now. Crews will also inspect potential landslides in the area. Hoodland Fire has evacuated five people from Riverside Drive on the Sandy River and others have been advised to leave and may need to be evacuated. Residents on Roberts Rd. have also been evacuated. For updated FLOOD WATCH ALERTS, click here: WEATHER ALERTS