Sean C. Morgan
The snow finally stuck in Sweet Home early Monday morning, after a series of close calls from the weather service.
This one was for real, burying the community in 6 to 10 inches of snow.
It started over the weekend, with snow falling but not sticking in town Sunday morning, then giving way to rain.
About midnight, the snow started falling again and sticking. By Monday morning, Sweet Home had caught a lot more precipitation than the Willamette Valley floor.
Greg Springman said there were 3 or 4 inches in Millersburg, and Sheriff Jim Yon said it was much deeper on the east end of the county, while Albany had a dusting.
While trees and limbs fell on power poles causing extended power outages and intermittent power outages across Sweet Home, school was out for the day and families made their way to the hill at Sweet Home Junior High for some sledding action.
On Ironwood Street, between 4th and 5th Avenues, Micah Stewart looked at a tree that toppled in his yard after heavy rains fell over the weekend, followed by the moist snow.
Up 5th Avenue, sisters Abbi and Katie Larsen played in their yard while their mom, Catrina Larsen shoveled snow as a nearby barbecue sizzled, providing some heat as snowflakes continued to fall at 10:30 a.m.
Catrina Larson said her daughters got an early start on the snow day break from school at nearby Oak Heights.
“They’ve been out here since 7:30,” she said.
Krystal Herbert and Alex Callin were pulling their 2-year-old, Killian Callin, around on a yellow sled outside Sweet Home Junior High, just after noon.
“It’s the first time he’s gotten to see a real snowman,” Herbert said.
Callin figured it’s been about three years since Sweet Home had significant snow like this.
“I’m used to a lot more snow than this,” said Herbert, who came to Sweet Home from Missouri. “I haven’t seen this much in six years.”
A police officer rolled up 22nd Avenue with the PA on, urging sledders to “go faster!” while Dale Schroeder and son Korbin Schroeder, 4, slid down the hill together.
The snow was “awesome,” Schroeder said. “It’s nice and wet. Once it gets packed down, it’s super slick.”
But the snow wasn’t all fun and games.
Sweet Home High School Principal Ralph Brown, who lives east of Sweet Home off Highway 20 and had about 10 inches of snow, said he made it three miles toward town before his progress was stopped by downed trees and power lines.
Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District responded to nine reports of downed wires.
“Snowmagedden wasn’t bad for us,” said Fire Chief Dave Barringer said. “It’s just a bunch of wires down.”
The district was dispatched to one crash, but the call was canceled whiled firefighters and medics were en route.
By 2:36 p.m. Monday, the district had responded to three non-weather-related medical calls.
Firefighters responded using the district’s four-wheel-drive engine along with the tender out of Crawfordsville Station to get around, Barringer said. The engines carry automatic chains.
“We’re more geared up for this than we’ve ever been,” Barringer said.
“It’s going well,” said Police Chief Jeff Lynn Monday afternoon. Public Works had been working hard to get the roadways clear, while police had few weather-related issues.
Police responded to at least one weather-related crash at the intersection of Highway 20 and Clark Mill.
Main Street was looking good in the early afternoon, Lynn said, and heavy traffic on Long Street had it in good shape too by Monday afternoon.
The main concern Monday afternoon was the freezing weather expected Monday evening.
For Public Works, “it’s mainly roads,” said Director Greg Springman. “They’re melting really fast. I’m probably worried more about tonight when it gets colder. Everything’s melting fast, but we’ve got a lot in a few days.”
It began with a lot of rain Saturday, he said. That “maxed out” or “more than maxed out” ditches, Springman said. That caused a bypass at the Wastewater Treatment Plant to the South Santiam River lasting from Sunday morning to Sunday afternoon.
A pump went down, while the plant treated the wastewater at a rate of 6.5 million gallons per day and bypassing the excess.
The Wastewater Treatment Plant must sometimes bypass untreated due to inflow and infiltration during heavy rain events. I&I is ground and storm water that leaks into the wastewater system through deteriorating pipes and cross connections with the storm system. The city has reduced the level of I&I over the past two decades and is planning an upgrade and expansion at the plant to handle the remaining I&I flows.
“I don’t think we’re worried about flooding at this point,” Springman said. “The roads are wet under the snow on the streets, so our biggest concern the next couple of days is ice.”
But Public Works officials planned to monitor the situation for flooding for a couple of days, especially if the area gets a quick warm rain.
Sand and bags are available at the City Hall parking lot, 12th and Kalmia and at the new City Hall, 3225 Main St.
Public Works crews responded to more than 20 reports of trees and limbs down, including one at the new City Hall that blocked a lane of traffic.
“We’ve had the grader out on all our major roads,” Springman said. Sweet Home’s plow equipment is older, but the crews have done a good job with the equipment they have.
They planned to sand the roads into the night, monitor road conditions and sand as needed, Springman said. During the next few days, with ice forming, Springman suggested that people remain home if they do not have to go out.
“We had a bunch of power lines down up on 20 and around the area,” Yon said. Quartzville Road has been a real problem with downed lines and 50 to 60 downed trees.
Outside of that, he hadn’t heard about any accidents, “nothing serious,” Yon said. As he headed for work Monday at about 6:15 a.m., people were driving slowly and carefully the whole way – from Sweet Home to Albany.
A couple was trapped in the snow at about milepost 10 on Quartzville Road on Sunday.
Linn County Sheriff’s Lt. Michelle Duncan said a man left his truck on Quartzville and was able to get out. At about 4:43 p.m., he reported he had friends and their vehicle still up on Quartzville.
The Linn County Road Department went to work clearing the roadway, Duncan said. It hadn’t completed the work on Monday, but the couple was able to get out Sunday night. A deputy drove up Monday morning in a four-wheel-drive vehicle to check the area for additional people. The deputy located and winched out the couple’s pickup, but the couple’s camper remained trapped at about milepost 23.
Pacific Power Spokesman Tom Gauntt said that Lebanon and Sweet Home had 4,400 customers in 160 different outages at 8 a.m. Monday morning. By 4:45, some 3,700 customers remained without power.
Across the state, Monday afternoon, 42,000 customers had no power.