NEWS
A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2020
Gov. Brown releases funding
proposal for E. Oregon fl oods
HERMISTON HERALD
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Photo/Greg Lehman
East Umatilla Fire and Rescue crews work to extricate the driver of an overturned semitruck on
Highway 11 on Sunday. Offi cials said high winds caused the trailer to fl ip. Southbound lanes
were closed at Steen Road due to the crash.
Wind tips over truck, knocks
out power across the county
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
High-speed
winds
caused by a cold front in
Eastern Oregon and Wash-
ington on Sunday wreaked
havoc on the Pacifi c North-
west until early evening,
but come Monday after-
noon the air had stilled to
some extent.
“For the most part, we’re
under high pressure now,
which calms things down a
little bit and warms things
up slightly,” said National
Weather Service assistant
forecaster Ann Adams on
Monday afternoon.
Downed lines in the
western part of Umatilla
County resulted in a loss
of power for more than 800
people, who rely on Herm-
iston Energy Services for
electricity. By 7:30 p.m.,
however, power had been
restored to all but 14 Herm-
iston members.
At 1 p.m., Umatilla Elec-
tric Cooperative stated that
due to down power lines
and falling trees entan-
gling in phone wires, 300
in the Irrigon area had lost
their power. East of Herm-
iston, 230 members in the
Columbia and Foster dis-
tricts were without power.
Groups of customers in
Mission, Weston Mountain
and around Butter Creek
awaited restoration from
the cooperative.
In total, 630 cooperative
members lost their power.
But according to the coop-
erative’s online outage
map, all customers could
turn their lights back on by
Monday afternoon.
“The majority of mem-
bers had their power on in
the early evening, but the
crews worked throughout
the night to get the power
back on,” said Steve Mey-
ers of Umatilla Electric
Cooperative.
“There were multiple
scattered outages.”
The
Walla
Walla
Union-Bulletin
reported
that strong winds fl ipped
a
Sherwin-Williams
semitruck around noon
on Sunday. The truck was
southbound on Highway
11 south of Blue Mountain
Station Road when it blew
onto its side into the north-
bound lane before heading
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Crews work to set a new utility pole near Interstate 84 in
Mission on Monday afternoon after high winds toppled the
pole and damaged at least three others in the area. According
to Pacifi c Power, the fallen poles cut power to a couple
hundred customers around noon on Sunday afternoon and
remained out until crews were able to reroute power through
other lines around 8:45 p.m. on Sunday.
into a nearby fi eld, pinning
the driver.
East
Umatilla
Fire
and Rescue responded to
the scene, and the driver
was taken by ambulance
to Providence St. Mary
Medical Center and was
later picked up by a Sher-
win-Williams manager.
Wind blowing at a speed
of at least 74 miles per hour
marks the start of a low-
level hurricane, and that
wind speed was reported
Sunday in the city of Helix.
In
Pendleton,
the
National Weather Service
station recorded a high
speed of 64 mph, and in
Hermiston wind blew in the
50 mile-per-hour range.
Dust kicked up by the
high speeds lowered visi-
bility on Highway 395 near
Umatilla and the Tri-Cit-
ies and across other roads
in Umatilla County, and
a multi-vehicle wreck
on Interstate 82 near the
Tri-Cities was the result.
Highway 11 between
Milton-Freewater
and
Pendleton, and Highway
204 between Weston and
Elgin remained closed for
two hours after 1:45 p.m.
on Sunday afternoon,
according to the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion, due to low visibility
and crashes caused by the
wind.
And on Interstate 84
near Meacham, downed
power lines shut down the
interstate between Pendle-
ton and La Grande for two
hours after 12:45 p.m. The
fallen lines also resulted in
outages for many Pacifi c
Power customers.
The downed lines near
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
caused the largest of 24
power outages that hap-
pened Sunday, according
to Pacifi c Power spokes-
man Tom Gaunt. About
400 Pacifi c Power custom-
ers across the county lost
their power for almost nine
hours in total.
Gaunt added that one
of the power lines strung
across the freeway near
Meacham will need to be
restored, and will result in
a brief road closure at that
time, although the company
is not certain when that will
be.
Affected
customers
in the area are currently
hooked up to different
lines.
“The work continues,”
he said.
The National Weather
Service warned Monday
that while the high-speed
winds from last weekend’s
cold front aren’t anticipated
to continue into the week,
another weather system
moving in at the latter end
of the week will bring more
cool temperatures.
“Not from a cold front
like
this
weekend’s,”
Adams said. “At this time,
there is no mention of high
winds. It remains to be
seen.”
Gov.
Kate
Brown
announced a funding pro-
posal of $11.65 million Fri-
day to assist the Eastern
Oregon communities dev-
astated by fl oods earlier this
month.
“I saw and heard on my
visit last week how devas-
tating this is for residents,
and I am determined that it
shouldn’t be catastrophic
to the stability of the com-
munity,” Brown said in a
press release. “I am commit-
ted to making sure that res-
idents have what they need
to stay in place, reopen their
businesses, and rebuild their
lives.”
The funding package
includes relief for busi-
nesses and homeowners,
along with assistance for
levee repairs. According to
the release, the state expects
the federal government to
give “signifi cant funding”
through its disaster relief
programs and for the state’s
$11.65 million to go “toward
fi lling the gaps of immediate
needs that are ineligible for
federal reimbursement.”
The proposal lists $4 mil-
lion for the “expedited pur-
chase and installation of
manufactured homes,” $1
million in “rapid rehousing
funds” for immediate needs,
along with $500,000 for
low- or no-interest loans for
damage costs not covered
by fl ood insurance.
“In an area already in
short supply of available
housing, having so many
homes wiped out has an
enormous impact,” Brown
said in the release. “Peo-
ple have been getting by
the best they can by staying
with friends and neighbors
or by driving farther away
to fi nd a safe, dry home —
but that’s not practical in the
long term.”
To address long-term
needs, the proposal includes
$2 million in development
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Gov. Kate Brown talks with Harley and Robin Hauck,
managers of the Riverview Mobile Home Estates in
Pendleton, on Feb 14, 2020. After speaking with the Haucks
outside, Brown toured their fl ood-damaged home.
FUNDING JEOPARDIZED BY WALK-OUT
Senate Republicans walked out on the 2020 legislative
session on Monday and House Republicans joined them
on Tuesday, aiming to prevent passage of House Bill
1530, known as the cap and trade bill. The bill’s goal is to
reduce carbon emissions in the state, but its opponents
say it will disproportionately hurt rural residents.
Gov. Kate Brown told reporters Monday that the walk-out
could jeopardize a variety of endeavors yet to be voted
on, including proposed funding for fl ood relief.
The session by law must end on March 8. The legislature
won’t have a quorum needed to pass bills until Republi-
cans return, and as of Tuesday afternoon it was unclear
when, or even if, they would return.
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Governor Brown’s gener-
ous and expedient response
to the needs of the North-
eastern Oregon counties,
especially Umatilla County
and the places that were hit
the hardest,” said Rep. Greg
Barreto, R-Cove. “Not only
for recognizing the critical
situation that these counties
are in, but for going the extra
mile and gathering together
emergency funds.”
Rep. Greg Smith, R-Hep-
pner, was also apprecia-
tive of the package and
the governor’s attention to
smaller communities, such
as Milton-Freewater.
“Governor Brown exhib-
ited strong leadership and
compassion in her quick
response to the citizens of
Umatilla County,” Smith
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funds that will become
available “upon fi nalization
of a sustainable community
plan.”
For businesses impacted
by the fl oods, the proposal
lists $1.5 million for imme-
diate relief in hopes of help-
ing them reopen.
The city of Pendleton,
which has estimated costs
up to $4.8 million for dam-
ages sustained from the
fl oods, would receive $1.8
million for “crucial” repairs
to its levee system.
Milton-Freewater would
also receive $850,000 for its
own recovery efforts.
According to the press
release, the proposal has
bipartisan support and
has been lauded by local
legislators.
“I very much appreciate
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