PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As a winter storm sweeps into Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington, the number of people without power in the region keeps going up Tuesday.
More than 150,000 people in the metro area, Willamette Valley, Oregon Coast, and Southern Oregon are without power.
According to the PGE website, just after 10:30 p.m., 63,227 customers don’t have service. Earlier, at 2:30 p.m., PGE reported more than 115,000 customers were without power.
Most of the outages are concentrated along the Interstate 5 corridor, in Washington County, Gresham, and southeast of McMinnville. PGE is reporting outages as far west as Grand Ronde and as far east as Government camp.
In a press release, PGE said crews from California, Idaho and Washington were on the way to aid PGE’s 600-personnel crew on hand.
“These winds are blowing debris into our lines, taking down trees and damaging high-voltage transmission lines,” said Dale Goodman, PGE director of utility operations. “The sustained winds make it challenging for crews to safely work in bucket trucks and on high wires, where we are seeing the impacts of the winds on our equipment.”
As of 10:45 p.m., Pacific Power says it is still dealing with 25,126 customers who are without power. On Tuesday afternoon, Pacific Power reported around 34,000 customers did not have service.
On the Northern Oregon Coast there are roughly 5,871 outages and some 3,371 in the Salem and Corvallis areas. Around 295 Pacific Power customers in the Portland area are without service.
In a press release, Pacific Power said crews will work through the night to restore power. The power company says at the height of Tuesday’s wind event there were 49,622 customers without power.
“We are still battling the elements, but our crews are focused on repair and restoration as the weather allows,” said Allen Berreth, Vice President of Operations for Pacific Power. “We remain grateful for the support our crews are getting in person and on social media from our customers.”
Pacific Power customers in Southern Oregon aren’t much better off. More than 9,000 outages are being reported in the Medford, Coos Bay, and Cave Junction areas.
Clark Public Utilities, which serves the Clark County area in Washington state, lists 61,595 customers without electricity as of 10:45 p.m.
On the Oregon Coast, Tillamook People’s Utility District reported more than 16,000 customers were still without service.