3:30 p.m. Monday update
About 380 Umatilla Electric customers remain out of power – mostly in the Butter Creek area – following Sunday’s powerful windstorm.
Among other damage, the storm leveled a dozen transmission power poles serving the Butter Creek Substation on Highway 207 south of Hermiston. After 50 power poles in all, many at Butter Creek, were knocked down in the storm.
In addition to Umatilla Electric line crews, a crew from the Heppner-based Columbia Basin Cooperative and three contract crews from the Portland-Vancouver area are working to restore power to UEC customers.
The number of Butter Creek residents without power is expected to drop to about 250 by 6 p.m. Monday. No time estimate has been determined for full restoration of power to Butter Creek residents.
7 a.m. Monday update:
Umatilla Electric crews are working to clear Highway 207 near the Butter Creek power substation. It is not expected to be clear until 10 a.m. today. Damage in the area remains at 12 transmission poles just north of the substation near Echo Junction. In addition, at least 16 poles south of the substation along the highway need replacement. Additional poles down Saylor Road are down as far as the eye can see.
Regionally, a clear line of damage can be followed from the far southwest reaches of Bombing Range near Findley Bio and Cascade Specialties eastward through to Butter Creek. Crews haven’t had a chance to assess additional damage that may lie in the area. The squall line extended further east, which resulted in outages in the Mission, Despain and Missouri Gulch areas.
A crew from Columbia Basin has been called to replace eight distribution poles broken at the far end of Bombing Range Feeder 3, which took out power to Findley Bio and Cascade Specialties. UEC crews will be working to cut the line so most customers can have their service restored while awaiting the replacement of the 8 poles. (Findley Bio and Cascade Specialties were restored at 07:01 a.m.)
All customers out of Columbia substation east of Hermiston should be back on and crews are working to finish up outages scattered through Irrigon substation. A crew is dispatching troubleshooting the outages north of Hermiston along Cooney Lane and Old River Road. Crews have identified needed repairs on Daisy Lane north of town. Outages also have been reported in the Mission area.
Contract crews have been called to assist. With most UEC linemen having worked the past 12 hours throughout the night their safety will be paramount.
It is estimated nearly 50 poles are broken and in need of replacement.
12 midnight Sunday update
A powerful windstorm gusting from 50 to 70 mph whipped through the Butter Creek Valley and into the Hermiston area on Sunday evening, flattening trees and power poles and knocking out power from Boardman to Despain Gulch.
In emergency calls that began at 5:38 p.m., a dozen transmission poles and 16 distribution poles were reported down on the Butter Creek Highway several miles south of the freeway. More poles had fallen on Lindsay Canyon Road near the bombing range, on Saylor Road on Butter Creek, at Baxter and Edwards roads near Hermiston, on Old River Road near Umatilla and multiple other locations. Numerous downed wires were reported at Irrigon.
An estimated one mile of transmission lines and one mile of distribution lines had blown down in the storm at various locations.
“We have a whole bunch of poles on the ground,” a UEC lineman reported. “We’re looking at working all night long to put it back together.”
Fallen trees were reported throughout the region, as well as many trees leaning into power lines, tripping protective breakers at substations throughout the area. A protective breaker also opened at the McNary substation at Umatilla, the gateway for some of UEC’s wholesale power supply.
By 9 p.m., thousands of customers have been restored to power, but power was still out at various locations in northern Morrow and western Umatilla County as repairs and damage assessments were under way.
By morning UEC hopes to have all non-Butter Creek related outages restored. Restoration of Butter Creek can not be estimated until Monday morning. Once the substation is energized, there will likely be additional outages to troubleshoot afterwards.
Crews will be working throughout the night to access damage and restore power. Closure of the Butter Creek Highway may be requested as cleanup begins; check before traveling.
Residents should stay at least 300 feet away from all downed wires, and keep others from going near them. Any wire on the ground or hanging from a pole must be considered live. Telephone and cable television wires may be entangled with electric wires and must also be treated as live.
Be especially careful when driving or parking a vehicle near downed wires. If downed wires are in the street, near the curb, or on the sidewalk, use extreme caution. Never drive over downed power lines. Even if not energized, they can become entangled in your vehicle.
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