Across the Eugene-Springfield area, utility companies are still sending teams of workers around the clock to to try and restore power to thousands of residents. A Wednesday night storm froze countless trees, causing outages when branches and limbs collapsed, hitting lines. Many more bits of debris have littered streets, sidewalks, and driveways.
From the EWEB homepage:
"As of noon Saturday, crews have restored about 3,500 customers and are working in the following areas of Eugene:
Friendly Park/Morse Farm, near 29th Ave. & Madison St.
Fairmount area (PARTIALLY RESTORED)
Area near New Hope Christian College/Bailey Hill Rd. & Warren St. (RESTORED)
Harlow Rd. & Palomino Dr. area (PARTIALLY RESTORED)
Sanborn Ave. & Willowbrook St. area near Arrowhead Park (RESTORED)
Area near Corridor Elementary School
Amazon & Fox Hollow Rd. area (RESTORED)
River Rd. & Terra Linda Ave. area
Ferry Street Bridge neighborhood
Dillard Rd & Snell St., near East Amazon Drive
Crews continue to work to restore power as quickly as they can while maintaining safety, but the damage is widespread. It will be multiple days before all customers are restored, but we expect to make significant progress this weekend.
If your power has not been restored but you notice your neighbors' lights are on, please call 1-844-484-2300 to speak with a customer service representative."
Meanwhile, the Emerald People's Utility District is using Twitter to share progress reports for its customers:
http://www.epud.org/my-home/power-outage-information/twitter/
Beginning Saturday through Sunday, evening lows will drop below freezing, sometimes in the single digits. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at Spencer Butte Middle School (500 E. 43rd St.) for people still without power. And people are advised to bundle up and not expose themselves to cold, lest they get frostbite.
People are also warned not to warm up cars in enclosed spaces like garages, or to cook on hibachis or grills inside their homes, as these can cause dangerous carbon monoxide fumes or smoke.
