Mayhem caused by two days of freezing rain continued through Saturday, even as rising temperatures and rain thawed the ice.
Roughly 10,000 Clark Public Utilities customers were without power Saturday because of problems with the Ellsworth substation, according to Utility spokesman Dameon Pesanti. The problem was fixed at around 5 p.m.
Both directions of Highway 14 between milepost 19 near Washougal and milepost 65 near the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge were closed due to a snow slide blocking both lanes as of Saturday at 3 p.m., according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. Interstate 84 through the Columbia River Gorge was also closed until 2:30 p.m.
Northbound Interstate 205 near westbound Mill Plain Boulevard and 112th Avenue was closed for two and a half hours due to icy conditions.
The lingering ice will continue to thaw as temperatures rise and rain continues to fall, said Andy Bryant, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Portland, Saturday morning.
“Once you get above freezing you’re not going back,” Bryant said. “It’s going to stay much milder and the temperature will keep going up through the day.”
All major roads in Clark County were open, although local roads were still messy and needed time to thaw, WSDOT spokesperson Kelly Hanahan said Saturday morning.
“People need to be patient,” Hanahan said. “We’ve been working around the clock for a couple of days now to keep those main roads cleared.”
Through Saturday evening, 74 flights departing from the Portland International Airport were canceled and 25 were delayed. Flights scheduled to depart after 6 p.m. were mostly “on time,” according to the PDX website.
C-Tran
C-Tran buses are still operating, although some services have changed.
The Vine is being served by 40-foot buses. Passengers should board at the designated location adjacent to each station.
As of 12:20 p.m., Route 80 is not currently serving Village Loop, buses are using 164th Avenue and McGillivray Boulevard and Route 92 is not currently serving the Addy Loop area in Washougal in addition to Routes 6, 9, 19, 30, 31 and 32 being on snow route.
The Current is suspended in all service areas.
