Thousands without power in Portland, Oregon coast area after snowstorm

PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) — Almost 9,000 customers are dealing with power outages in Portland and other areas of the state as Oregon recovers from Wednesday’s massive snowstorm.

Portland received 10.8 inches of snow on Wednesday, the second-highest total ever recorded in the city, closing schools and roads across the region.

Check power outages: PGE | Pacific Power | Clark County Public Utilities

As of about 12:45 p.m. Thursday, Portland General Electric (PGE) reported that more than 5,600 customers are without power, down from a high of more than 7,000 earlier in the day.

“We are seeing downed lined and equipment damage due to the winter weather and heavy snow on limbs and tree branches, resulting in about 6,900 customers being without power as of 6:30 a.m.,” PGE said Thursday morning. “We are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power to all customers. Our crews are dealing with the very challenging road conditions as they try to access all necessary areas to make these repairs.”

The majority of the 3,200 power outages reported by Pacific Power, as of about 12:45 p.m., are on the Oregon coast, primarily in the Lincoln City area. Earlier Thursday morning, there were more than 10,000 outages in that region.

“Right now, our major area of concentrated effort is the Lincoln City area,” said Allen Berreth, vice president of operations for Pacific Power. “Initially system reports were indicating the outages in Lincoln City were larger than they actually were. But within an hour that issue was resolved. We are now looking at about 2,800 customers without power and we are working to get those homes and businesses restored as quickly and as safely as possible.”

Earlier Thursday, Clark County Public Utilities was reporting more than a thousand outages. But that number was down to just six, as of about 12:45 p.m.

The snowstorm arrived Wednesday night and caused major traffic issues Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Slick conditions across much of Oregon and southwest Washington created extreme issues for drivers during the Thursday morning commute. Officials are advising people to stay home and off the roads unless absolutely necessary.