EUGENE, Ore. — Eugene residents on Tuesday found resourceful ways to dig out from a surprise early week snowstorm while bracing for the next round of winter weather.
People put any tool that could move snow to use as they cleared driveways and uncovered cars. The improvised arsenal included a dustpan, brooms and a recycling bin. The lucky few wielded proper snow shovels. Even a luckier few ran snow blowers.
Shop owners with parking lots faced an even bigger chore. Mark Lew, owner of Capella Market on Willamette Street, hopped aboard a little red tractor and tirelessly pushed snow off the grocery store’s lot.
“I’ve been here 30 years and I’ve never seen this much snow,” he said.
Armed with just a metal snow shovel, Felicia Bacon, who works at the Mini Pet Mart on Willamette Street, also labored to clear the shop’s lot. “(Well) at least a little pathway,” she said.
The big snowfall had other lasting effects along with removal. Thousands were left without power in the southern Willamette Valley. Schools, businesses and governmental agencies delayed opening or stayed closed all together. Travel, even just across town, remained dicey and difficult depending on the streets.
At the height of the power outages the Eugene Water and Electric Board had more than 14,000 customers without power, said Joe Harwood, spokesman for the utility. As of Tuesday night there were about 7,600 EWEB customers without power.
The Springfield Utility Board reported 1,200 customers were still without power on Tuesday, and the Lane Electric Cooperative reported more than 9,000 customers without power.
More than 8,000 Emerald People’s Utility District customers still were without power on Tuesday night due to the snowstorm, said Patty Jo Angelini, spokesperson for the utility. The outages are in Veneta, Junction City, Marcola, Pleasant Hill, Creswell, and Cottage Grove. EPUD crews had restored power to about 3,000 customers.
“We just want to people to know that we are going to keep working and keep working until power is restored,” she said.
Power problems also left some traffic signals dark in Eugene and Springfield. In Eugene, the lights at 24th Avenue and Willamette Street, as well as 24th and Amazon Parkway, were out Tuesday morning. Crews later installed generators to revive the lights. In Springfield, the lights at Pioneer Parkway and Centennial Boulevard, and Pioneer Parkway at Interstate 105, were out on Tuesday.
The snow dealt a particularly heavy blow to highways crossing through the Cascades. Highways 58 and 138 remained closed late Tuesday.
Back in Eugene, road crews have been working around the clock.
“We are rocking like crazy,” said City of Eugene maintenance worker Cory Jensen.
The road workers divide the day between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. shifts, said Ryan Coltrane, a maintenance worker with the city. He had been driving a snowplow nearly 12 hours per day on Monday and Tuesday.
Ironically, the man behind the plow has been living in a hotel the past couple of days because of snow. Coltrane said he lives near Dexter and his home is buried by about 2 feet of snow.
“I can’t even make it to my home,” he said.
Due to all the snow, snow shovels have been a hot commodity at hardware and sporting goods stores around Eugene.
Eugene Hardware, also on Willamette Street, was sold out of snow shovels Tuesday. So Shannon Brennan of Eugene was ecstatic to find one last grain shovel on the shelf.
“I was nervous there wasn’t going to be any (shovels),” she said.
She said the shovel’s wide and deep blade works well for snow. Brennan lived in Montana, so she knows well.
Her advice for anyone to shoveling snow: “Get it as fast as you can.”
The Big 5 Sporting Good on Willamette Street only had two snow shovels, which sold by 10 a.m. Monday, said Carlos Silva, assistant manager at the store. Since then, people have been coming in for fun or fuel.
“It’s been all sleds and propane,” he said. Nearby homes were without power so customers were buying propane to run camping stoves.
Gloves were the third most popular item over the past couple of days, Silva added.
Silva said the snow had changed how Big 5 runs as a business. It closed early on Monday, and he said they “are only bringing in people who are able to walk here.”
Like the city’s road crews, Eugene Water and Electric Board crews were busy, mending power lines. Falling trees and branches brought down some power lines. Heavy, wet snow clung to others. The weight caused them to snap off their poles.
EWEB teams repair big transmission lines first and work their way down to smaller power lines, said Harwood, the utility’s spokesperson. Along with Eugene, EWEB provides electricity to communities along Highway 126. Snow was even heavier in the Cascades foothills and power outages have been a problem for towns along the highway.
“It’s just devastating up there,” Harwood said.
The National Weather Service forecasts more snow for Eugene. Snow began falling again around 4 p.m. Tuesday and might continue into Wednesday morning.
Larry Egan, who lives off of 28th Avenue in south Eugene, wasn’t eager about the prospect of more snow.
“No, I’ve had enough,” he said. “Go away. Stay in the mountains.”
