Flooding rains threaten valley; state urges residents not to travel this weekend

BY MICHAEL BOOTH

GAZETTE-TIMES REPORTER

Highway 20 at Santiam Pass was the road to nowhere after two avalanches closed the highway early Thursday morning. The blockage prompted Hoodoo Mountain Resort to shut down.

The pass will remain closed until this afternoon, while avalanche experts and officials from the Oregon Department of Transportation evaluate the potential for another slide. Thursday evening, ODOT warned drivers - especially truckers - to avoid travel over mountain passes until at least Sunday, and to be aware of potential problems in other areas.

A series of winter storms is expected to dump more snow in the mountains through the weekend, bringing potentially flooding rains to the valley and threatening the area between the coast and the valley with mud and rock slides.

The two avalanches on Highway 20 happened about 6:30 a.m. at mileposts 78.7 and 79.4, trapping a tractor-trailer between them until 8 a.m., officials say. Thursday's avalanche was the fifth in the past four weeks on the one-and-a-half-mile stretch in that area.

"How long the highway stays closed depends on the weather," ODOT spokesman Joe Harwood said. "Heavy snow is loading up … the snow pack is unstable, and it will eventually cause another slide."

This morning, avalanche experts are expected to will join ODOT officials to evaluate the slide area and determine when the road will open.

Highway 126 was closed at Highway 242 and Highway 22, just west of Detroit, was also closed to keep people from entering Santiam Pass. Highway 20 was closed 10 miles west of Sisters at milepost 80 to block the eastern entrance.

ODOT asked commercial trucks to shut down until the storm ends, rather than bypass Highway 20 in favor of other highways.

Trucks diverted from Highway 20 onto Highway 26 and Interstate 84 were compounding congestion problems, that began when drivers stopped to install tire chains to get through the Columbia Gorge and Government Camp on Mount Hood. Truck traffic diverted out of Washington was also adding to congestion, according to an ODOT press release.

Normally, an abundance of snowpack is good news for Hoodoo Mountain Resort but with the road to the ski area blocked, the resort was closed Thursday. The ski area reported 15 inches of new snow in the 24-hour period ending at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. But according to Hoodoo's Web site, snow was falling faster than their automatic gauge could measure.

Interstate 5 between Ashland and Yreka, Calif. also was closed Thursday between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. due to heavy snow, and ODOT officials are predicting more road closures through the weekend.

"Because of the current storm and another significant system moving in, we expect the situation to remain critical for several days," said ODOT Deputy Director Doug Tindall. "ODOT will not be able to provide much service at Sno-Parks and secondary highways as we work to address ongoing issues on the Interstates and main state highways."

In the mid-valley, showers (including the possibiity of some snow) is expected to continue through Monday night, with low and high temperatures between 31 and 45 degrees.