9 a.m. update : Highway 6 has reopened according to ODOT.
Original story:
Overnight winds brough trees down on area roads, littering Highways 26 and 6 with debris and taking out power for Portland General Electric and West Oregon Electric Co-op customers throughout the region.
According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, Highway 6 was closed in Tillamook County between mileposts 13 and 14 for downed trees and powerlines, while downed trees and tree debris on Highway 26 prompted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to urge motorists to stay away from Manning all the way to the Tillamook County line past Timber.
“Please avoid the area if possible and seek alternative routes,” the sheriff’s office said.
At least three other spots on Highway 6 between the closure and Banks had debris reported on ODOT’s tripcheck.com, but the agency’s real time traffic tracker showed other slowdowns on the highway as well.
A National Weather Service High Wind Warning is in effect until 10 a.m. Thursday.
Hundreds of Portland General Electric customers near Banks were without power Thursday morning, in the Cedar Canyon area, north of Highway 26, near Mountaindale, and more.
Gales Creek-area customers were also without power in the hundreds.
West Oregon Electric Co-op customers in Timber, near Banks, in Buxton and elsewhere in the utility’s district were also without power.
“Our crews have been working tirelessly through the night and will continue throughout the day with assistance from neighboring utilities,” West Oregon Electric Co-Op said in a social media post Thursday morning. “At this time, there is no estimated time for power restoration.”
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
