Hundreds of thousands without power as ice storm hits Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Freezing rain brought on ice-coated roads, downed power lines, damaged roofs, cars, trees, and businesses in Oregon as a winter storm continues to sweep through the region.

The Ice Storm Warning remains in effect until noon Saturday.

Power outages began early Friday. Saturday morning, Portland General Electric reported more than 200,000 residents had power issues. Pacific Power reported there are 514 outages in Oregon affecting 37257 customers.

The Clark County Public Utilities Department reported over 559 customers were without power as of 7 a.m. Saturday, but more than 1,300 had already had theirs restored.

At 5:30 a.m., Salem Electric reported over 6,000 customers were without power. The power company’s phone line was down as of 6:30 a.m., but they hope to have it working again soon.

Due to the sheer volume of outages alongside the continuing hazardous conditions, restorations will likely take some time.

If your power goes out, PGE provided the following tips:

• Check surge protectors and all the GFCI outlets in your home to make sure they are working properly.
• Check your circuit breakers and reset any that may have tripped.
• If your entire home is without power or if other homes around you are without power, call PGE to report the outage, either by phone, online or the PGE app. You can also request to get updates and with our outage map, see which areas are being impacted by an outage.

As the winter weather continues more outages could take place. Be sure to take proper precautions and preparations for inclement weather.