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Friends and Neighbors,
Like many of you, I am seeing the impacts of this storm and am concerned for my family, friends, neighbors, and community. In my neighborhood, many trees and power lines are down and trees have actually crashed through the roof and into my neighbors’ homes. My house, while untouched, has been without power since Friday evening and my thoughts keep circling back to those still in the cold, living without electricity, trying to get updates and a glimmer of hope. Before relocating to a hotel Tuesday night so I could take meetings my husband and I had been living in the dark, wrapped in our winter coats and using the remainder of our supply of wood to stay warm.
Thank you to all who have been taking care of each other, and especially of our community's most vulnerable residents. I know it's immensely frustrating to be without power, communication devices, or experiencing a lack of access to restaurants and groceries. I appreciate the community spirit that has grown from this event. I'm hopeful the next 24-48 hours will bring positive change.
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Power Outages
The extensive damage done during this historic winter storm needs to be repaired in sequence, meaning a lot of work must be done before PGE can safely provide power to homes and businesses, and unfortunately, that will take time. 971 line personnel and 3,000 total staff are working on restoration efforts, including customer service personnel and mutual aid crews from as far away as Montana and Nevada. By Friday night PGE expects 90% of customers currently without power will be restored.
Restoration details as of 2/17/21 at 9pm:
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Transmission lines out: 11
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Substations out: All restored
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Feeders out: 25
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Number of wires down: 6,460
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No. of people working to restore power: more than 3,000
Transmission lines are the lines that carry the power from the generating plant to substations. Substations take that power and push it out feeders, feeders deliver electricity to you.
Stay up to date and get answers to common questions here: https://portlandgeneral.com/storminfo?linkId=111589602
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Storm Debris
West Linn:
If you have storm debris that will not fit in your yard debris bin, the City of West Linn asks that you please move the limbs and branches to the edge of the street and the city will arrange for pick-up. Please do not put debris in the street and do not block any driveways, roads, or other access points. This will be a slow clean-up process that could take well over a month. Homeowners and HOAs that wish for debris to be cleaned up sooner are welcome to utilize private contractors at their own expense.
If your home has sustained any damage from a tree on city property, please reach out to your homeowners insurance to coordinate with them on clean-up and removal. West Linn parks are full of trees that pose hazardous conditions until staff can trim and clear debris. All city parks are closed to the public until further notice.
Tualatin:
Starting today at 1pm, three drop-off sites will be available to Tualatin residents for tree debris at no charge. Drop-off sites will run 9am - 5pm through the weekend.
- Atfalati Park, 6600 SW Sagert Street
- Brown's Ferry Park, 5855 SW Nyberg Lane
- Ibach Park, 10455 SW Ibach Street
You can drop off tree trimmings, branches, limbs under 12" in diameter, small stumps, and other parts of shrubs. Please check their website for more information: https://www.tualatinoregon.gov/publicworks/tree-debris-drop-sites
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Warming Shelter Resources
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ODOT Updates
Beginning late last week, ODOT crews have been on the ground to manage road conditions and closures, and to respond to the winter storm, prioritizing interstates first. All interstates are now open, and most secondary roads as well. To get the roads back to normal, power needs to be restored, which will take time. Tripcheck.com is the best source of up-to-the-minute road status.
On HWY 43, although some lanes closed, traffic can still travel from end to end along the road. There are currently multiple utility companies along the corridor working on their systems.
ODOT is responsible for the clearing up the downed trees, and a contractor crew will be starting the cleanup and hazard tree removal today. There are likely about 100 trees down, so it will take some time. It could be a few weeks before it’s “back to normal.”
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Replacing SNAP benefits
If you receive food with SNAP benefits, and you have lost food due to the power outages, you may be able to get some of your SNAP dollars added back on your Oregon EBT card. To request replacement SNAP benefits:
- Fill out and submit a replacement form to your local Oregon Department of Human Services office within 10 days of the loss. You can do this by mail or in person.
- If you are unable to submit the form within 10 days, call your local Oregon Department of Human Services office immediately to verbally report the loss. You will then have 10 days to return the form after you report.
- 211info can help you report the loss and submit the form. They can also help you obtain the form in other languages if necessary. 211info is a community partner who can help with any questions you may have about SNAP. It’s free.
To find your local Oregon Department of Human Services office, call 2-1-1 or visit https://www.oregon.gov/dhs/offices/pages/index.aspx
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