STATE/NATION
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021
THE OBSERVER — 7A
Enchanted Forest aims to open
March 19 despite storm damage
By JAKE THOMAS
Salem Reporter via AP StoryShare
SALEM — When
snow and ice storms were
included in last weekend’s
forecast, Susan Vaslev
worried about Enchanted
Forest.
Vaslev also recalled
thinking how little could be
done to protect the amuse-
ment park south of Salem,
which her family has owned
and operated for nearly 50
years.
“If the trees are going to
fall, there is no way to keep
them from falling,” she
recalled thinking.
She knew the park had
been damaged by the storm
on Saturday, Feb. 13, when
the fi re alarm went off in
the Challenge of Mondor
ride because the water pipes
had depressurized. She
drove to the park but didn’t
go in out of safety concerns.
From the parking lot, she
could see big Douglas fi rs
and other trees that had col-
lapsed under the weight of
the snow and ice.
On Sunday, she was able
to walk through the park to
survey the damage.
The kiddie train was
crushed under a fallen tree.
The covered seating area
by the theater also was
crushed. Roofs of build-
ings throughout the park
had been tattered by falling
branches.
While the park was dam-
aged during a similar storm
over a decade ago, Vaslev
said this is worse.
“The whole park is a war
zone, disaster area,” said
Vaslev. “There is a ton of
cleanup. I’ve never seen it
this bad.”
The full picture of the
damage to the park still is
emerging. Vaslev said rides
are covered in fallen trees
that will have to be care-
fully removed to prevent
causing further damage.
But Vaslev said it’s
not all bad news. Some of
the more iconic fi gures in
the park, such as Humpty
Dumpty and the witch’s
head, are intact, she said.
So is the Challenge of
Mondor, despite the fi re
alarm, she said.
The family also will
have some money for
repairs. In December, the
Tofte family, which owns
the park, announced they’d
raised enough money to
open for another season.
In response to a precipi-
tous drop in visitors last
year caused by the pan-
demic, the family began
selling park memorabilia
and asking for donations to
stay open.
In the meantime, the
park is hoping to keep its
March 19 date to open for
another season, Vaselev
said. For now, she said, it all
depends on how soon the
big trees are removed.
Earthquake warning system ready
to roll out to Oregon, Washington
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The
earthquake early warning
system known as Shake-
Alert will be capable of
delivering alerts directly to
wireless devices in Oregon
on March 11 and to Wash-
ington state in May, com-
pleting the West Coast
rollout, the U.S. Geological
Survey said Tuesday, Feb.
16.
The ShakeAlert system,
which warns of signifi cant
quakes, has been enabled
in California since October
2019. The system uses a net-
work of sensors that detect
the start of an earthquake
and calculates magnitude,
location and the expected
amount of shaking. It sends
the information in real time
to distributors that send out
alerts to cellphones and the
internet.
The information moves
so quickly that people may
have valuable seconds to
protect themselves before
shaking arrives, trains can
be slowed or industrial pro-
cesses stopped.
The USGS said that as
of Jan. 31, the West Coast
network was 70% com-
plete, with 1,132 out of 1,675
seismic stations installed.
The USGS and partners
plan a Feb. 18 outreach to
Pacifi c Northwest residents
on Reddit and a test mes-
sage on Feb. 25 to Washing-
ton’s King, Pierce and Thur-
ston counties, delivered to
wireless devices through
the Federal Emergency
Management Agency’s
Integrated Public Alerting
& Warning System.
100 million Americans brace for more cold
By PAUL J. WEBER
and JILL BLEED
Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas —
Winter weather that has
overwhelmed power
grids unprepared for cli-
mate change and left mil-
lions without electricity in
record-breaking cold kept
its grip on the nation’s mid-
section Wednesday, Feb. 17.
At least 20 people have
died, some while strug-
gling to fi nd warmth
inside their homes. In the
Houston area, one family
succumbed to carbon mon-
oxide from car exhaust in
their garage; another per-
ished as they used a fi re-
place to keep warm.
Blame the polar vortex,
a weather pattern that usu-
ally keeps to the Arctic,
but is increasingly visiting
lower latitudes and staying
beyond its welcome. Sci-
entists say global warming
caused by humans is partly
responsible for making the
polar vortex’s southward
escapes longer and more
frequent.
More than 100 million
people live in areas covered
Wednesday by some type
of winter weather warning,
watch or advisory, as yet
another winter storm hits
Texas and other parts of
the southern Plains, the
National Weather Service
said.
Utilities from Minne-
sota to Texas and Missis-
sippi have implemented
rolling blackouts to ease
the burden on power grids
straining to meet extreme
demand for heat and elec-
tricity as record low tem-
peratures were reported in
city after city. In Mexico,
rolling blackouts Tuesday
covered more than one-
Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP
A snow plow clears snow off a street Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Portland.
More than 150,000 without
power in Portland area
Oregon Poison Center took 19 calls about carbon
monoxide poisoning during weekend storm
Associated Press
PORTLAND — More
than 150,000 remained
without power in the
greater Portland area
Wednesday, Feb. 17, and
authorities warned out-
ages caused by a fi erce
weekend storm could con-
tinue for several more
days.
The Seattle area saw
more than a foot of snow
and Western Oregon was
hit with snow and ice that
toppled more than 5,000
power lines. Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown declared
a state of emergency
for the greater Portland
region.
Portland General Elec-
tric’s map of power out-
ages listed about 150,000
customers without elec-
tricity, while Pacifi c
Power listed about 6,000.
While temperatures
have returned to sea-
sonal norms in the North-
west some people in the
Portland area have been
without electricity for
nearly a week.
Steve Corson, a spokes-
person with PGE, said,
“Right now we need
people to be prepared for
the fact that it could be
several days yet” before
power is restored.
Late Tuesday the
Clackamas County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce confi rmed four
deaths over the weekend
due to carbon monoxide
poisoning. While author-
ities didn’t immediately
provide any details about
the deaths, they did urge
people not to use alterna-
tive heat sources such
as camp stoves or
barbecues to stay warm.
Rob Hendrickson,
medical director of the
Oregon Poison Center,
said the center took 19
calls about carbon mon-
oxide poisoning during the
weekend, as opposed to
one they receive on a typ-
ical weekend.
“It is extremely
important not to use out-
door grills or generators
inside your home,” Hen-
drickson said in a state-
ment. “These appliances
should be used outdoors,
well away from windows,
doors and ventilation
systems.”
Also late Tuesday,
Brown said because of
reports of price gouging at
local hotels she declared an
“abnormal market disrup-
tion” and issued an order
empowering the attorney
general to investigate.
The Union County Chamber
and La Grande Main Street
have teamed up with local
businesses to encourage you
to safely shop and support
• Shoppers collect punches by making purchases at participating locations (EACH DOLLAR
local businesses as we
spent earns a punch). Fill as many cards as you wish.
• Up to 50 punches per purchase!
March into Spring!!
• Turn in punch cards by 3/10, 3/17, 3/24 for weekly drawings
• All punch cards must be turned in by 4:00 p.m. on March 31st for a chance to win the
Grand Prize Drawing!
Turn cards in at Chamber (207 Depot), La Grande Main Street (102 Depot St.)
or any participating location.
ISLAND
EXPRESS
LM Otero/AP Photo
City of Richardson worker Kaleb Love breaks ice on a fro-
zen fountain Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Richardson, Texas.
Temperatures dropped into the single digits as snow shut
down air travel and grocery stores.
third of the country after
the storms in Texas cut the
supply of imported natural
gas.
Nearly 3 million cus-
tomers remained without
power early Wednesday in
Texas, Louisiana and Mis-
sissippi, more than 200,000
more in four Appalachian
states, and nearly that many
in the Pacifi c Northwest,
according to poweroutage.
us, which tracks utility
outage reports.
The latest storm front
was predicted to bring
snow and ice to East Texas,
Arkansas and the Lower
Mississippi Valley before
moving to the northeast
Thursday. Winter storm
watches were in effect from
Baltimore to Boston, and
Texas braced for more icy
rain and more snow.
“There’s really no letup
to some of the misery
people are feeling across
that area,” said Bob
Oravec, lead forecaster
with the National Weather
Service.
The weather has
threatened the nation’s
COVID-19 vaccina-
tion effort. President Joe
Biden’s administration said
When Food Speaks the
Language of Your Heart
Give Her
delays in vaccine shipments
and deliveries were likely.
The worst U.S. power
outages by far have been
in Texas, where offi cials
requested 60 generators
from the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency
and planned to priori-
tize hospitals and nursing
homes. The state opened 35
shelters to more than 1,000
occupants, the agency said.
Texas’ power grid man-
ager, the Electric Reli-
ability Council of Texas,
said electricity had been
restored to 600,000 homes
and businesses by Tuesday
night but that 2.7 mil-
lion households still were
without power.
Blackouts lasting more
than an hour had begun
before dawn Tuesday in
and around Oklahoma City,
stopping electric-powered
space heaters, furnaces and
lights just as temperatures
hovered around minus 8
degrees. Oklahoma Gas &
Electric urged users to set
thermostats at 68 degrees
Fahrenheit (20 degrees
Celsius), avoid using
major electric appliances
and turn off lights or
appliances not in use.
Ask about Free Delivery!
ELGIN ELECTRIC
43 N. 8th Elgin, OR 541-437-2054
LUBE CENTER & CAR WASH
Pick-Up Bumpers
Designed to be
tough, long lasting
and can stand
up to abuse.
Call today to make
an appointment
Basic Maintenance • Oil Change
Wash • Under Carriage Sprayer
(541)963-7400 • Sales • Service • Installation
10603 ISLAND AVE • ISLAND CITY
Growing Generations Together
OUR BANK WAS FOUNDED
BY FARMERS & RANCHERS IN 1945
who saw a need for banking services in Rural areas.
We remain Independent and are Committed to the
success of Our Rural communities. We are deeply
rooted in Agriculture and we love being a part of
Growing Your Generations Together.
YOUR LOCAL LENDERS & BRANCH
are Open and just down the road.
251 4 COVE AVENUE • LA GRANDE • 541-624-5040
KRIST Y NELSON • DAVID STIREWALT
Your Experienced Ag & Commercial Loan Officers
MEMBER FDIC