High winds sent trees into roadways and onto power lines, resulting in one vehicle crash and multiple power outages in north Clark County on Wednesday morning.
According to National Weather Service data gathered at Pearson Field, wind gusts reached speeds of 37 mph at about 5 a.m., and windy conditions continued throughout the morning.
More than 3,500 customers were affected by power outages overnight in parts of north Clark County, and a majority of those outages were caused by downed trees or downed tree limbs, Clark Public Utilities spokeswoman Erica Erland said.
The biggest outage was in Battle Ground, affecting 1,930 customers, Erland said. That outage was reported at 4:45 a.m. and was restored about two hours later.
Several hundred customers remained without power throughout the morning, though all of the outages were restored by the early afternoon.
Downed trees also landed on roadways, one of which caused a crash just south of Daybreak Park.
A man was driving a pickup truck north on Northeast 72nd Avenue near 252nd Way at about 7:15 a.m. when a tree fell across the roadway, Clark County Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Dawdy said.
The man wasn’t able to stop in time and crashed into the tree, he said.
Emergency crews responded and assessed the man, but he refused medical treatment, Dawdy said.
The downed tree blocked the roadway in both directions, but firefighters and public works crews used chainsaws to remove the tree, reopening the road about an hour later.
Clark Public Utilities crews responded to most of their wind-related issues between 4:30 and 7:30 a.m., many of which were in the same area as the crash.
A couple of downed trees on Manley Road, northwest of Battle Ground and about a mile east of the crash site, closed the road for a few hours at about 7:30 a.m., Clark County Public Works spokesman Jeff Mize said.
The city of Vancouver’s Public Works crews dealt with the wind in the form of power fluctuations that affected traffic signals at intersections. All of the traffic signals affected were quickly restored.
The agency reminded residents that when traffic signals flash red or go dark, to treat an intersection as a four-way stop and to report sign outages to 360-487-8177.
The winds made a cold, overcast day even more frigid. Temperatures Wednesday reached a high of about 34 degrees at Pearson Field in Vancouver and were expected to reach an overnight low of 24 degrees.
The low temps kept snow and ice on the roads in some parts of the county Wednesday, leading the Camas, Washougal and La Center school districts to put some of their buses on snow routes.
For today, Battle Ground Public Schools placed Battle Ground High School, Tukes Valley Primary and Middle School, Chief Umtuch Middle School, Captain Strong Primary School, Amboy Middle School, and Yacolt Primary School on snow routes. In the Washougal School District, the following buses are on snow routes: No. 1, No. 17, No. 27, No. 43, Ammeter Road, Mabee Mines, Martin and Old Jemtegaard. Hockinson school buses are also on snow routes.
An up-to-date list of school transportation changes is available on The Columbian’s website, www.columbian.com.
Today will be sunnier than Wednesday but is forecasted to be colder, according to the National Weather Service. Lows are expected to be around 17 with a high of 33 degrees, though winds are expected to remain at a calm 6 mph.
Columbian staff writer Andy Matarrese contributed to this story.
