VOLUME 42, NO. 18
FEBRUARY 19, 2021
SECTION A
$1.00
Mavericks
League
hires its
coaches
PAGE A10
ICE STORM AWES,
TESTS KEIZERITESʼ RESOLVE
Wheatland
Road redux
By ERIC A. HOWALD | Of the Keizertimes
PAGE A2
s the Keizertimes
went to press
Wednesday, Feb. 17,
roughly 2,800 of
city’s households
were still without
power in the wake
of an ice storm
that plunged more
than 200,000 Oregon homes into
darkness four days prior.
The ice storm, which began late
Thursday, Feb. 11, layered a thin sheet
of ice over most trees and branch-
es. Cold temperatures continued
throughout the day. When thermom-
eters dipped again after nightfall the
Assistance
requests
surge in
storm’s wake
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
It was a stressful and ex-
hausting 72-hour period for
the fi rst responders at Mari-
on County Fire District #1
(MCFD1) and Keizer Fire
District (KFD) during what
was one of the worst ice
storms in state history last
weekend.
Over a 72-hour period
(Feb. 12-14) MCFD1 re-
sponded to 234 emergency
calls, a 350% increase in their
daily average call volume —
79 calls were for emergency
medical services (EMS) and
155 calls were for downed
trees or power lines.
Due to the number of high
priority calls, limited on-du-
ty staffi ng and a low number
of volunteers, dozens of low-
er priority calls went unan-
swered — fortunately no per-
sonnel injuries were reported.
“It was absolute craziness,
almost controlled chaos. It
was an overwhelming number
of calls, one after the other.
There was no break,” MCFD1
fi re chief Kyle McMann said.
“There were instances of wives
LEFT: Ice crystals encase the needles of a tree in the Gubser neighborhood.
RIGHT: Near the same area, more than half a dozen trees fell across the street.
PHOTOS/Eric A. Howald
havoc began.
Keizer residents were either star-
tled out of their slumber by the sound
of collapsing trees and branches, or
stepped outside Saturday morning to
discover the landscape of their neigh-
borhood dramatically changed.
On the westernmost end of Man-
zanita Street Northeast and Woodlawn
Court Northeast, neighbors banded
together with chainsaws, clippers, rakes
and shovels to remove a half-dozen
trees that had fallen across the road in
the night. Their work began shortly
before 7 a.m. and the group had roads
cleared by early afternoon.
Keizer
Public
Works Director Bill
Lawyer heard about
the effort while
waiting in line for
propane later that
day, then ended up
on the receiving
end of one Jaymar
resident’s kindness. (Jaymar intersects
with Manzanita Street Northeast.)
“We were standing in line when
the cashier at the station came out to
tell us that their system had just gone
down and they could only accept
cash,” said Lawyer, who had only $6
Ice age glaze
PAGE A3
Please see STORM, Page A7
EMERGENCY
RESOURCES
WELFARE CHECKS
Need assistance checking on someone who is might be
in distress? Call 503-588-5108. Additional resource infor-
mation available at the number, but no outage updates.
LOST FOOD
SNAP recipients who lost food as a result of the power
outage may be able to have some of their monthly funds
restored. Visit the Keizer Department of Human Ser-
vices offi ce at 3420 Cherry Avenue, Suite 110, to fi le the
proper paperwork. If you can’t make it to the offi ce, call
503-373-0808 to report the loss immediately. You then
have 10 days to fi le the appropriate forms. Homeowners
insurance policies may also cover some losses.
WARMING CENTERS
St. Edward Catholic Church, 5303 River Road N., and
Salem Evangelical Church are offering daytime warming
centers while power outages continue. Salem Evangeli-
cal’s site opens at 10 a.m. daily and St. Edward opens at
noon. Snacks and device charging are available at both
sites. COVID-19 precautions are in place.
DEBRIS DISPOSAL
Yard debris can be dropped off, at no charge, at the
south parking lot of Keizer Little League Park at 5245
Ridge Drive N.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sunday, Feb. 21. Future
hours will be based on need.
Behind the
Badge
PAGE A9
OTHER ASSISTANCE
Keizer volunteers armed with chain saws, axes, mobile
power packs, and a trailer assembled to support those
who are need it. Fill out an assistance request form or
volunteer to help at tinyurl.com/kzrice.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Tony Ling heaves storm debris overhead at a disposal location near
Keizer Little League Park on Ridge Drive Northeast.
Please see SURGE, Page A9
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