PORTLAND — Overnight thunderstorms with frequent lightning toppled a few trees and knocked out power in places from Salem through the Willamette Valley to the Portland area.
Portland General Electric reports there were more than 3,000 customers out of service for a time Friday morning in Clackamas, Columbia, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington and Yamhill counties.
KGW reports lightning set a tree on fire in Sherwood and firefighters were nearly hit when it fell down. Lightning also started brushfires Sherwood and Forest Grove.
The Portland bureau of the National Weather Service says 850 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were detected overnight.
