PORTLAND, Ore. — Parts of Oregon are still without power a week after the major snowstorm hit, and it looks like it could be several more weeks before everything is fixed.
"It was the wettest, heaviest concrete snow I have ever seen in my life," Elkton farmer Debra Koehler told KGW. "We heard trees falling landslide trees just snapping and breaking throughout the night, three or four nights throughout this."
Douglas Electric Cooperative has crews working all over Southern Oregon, but say that in some of the worst-hit areas, it could be another three weeks before electricity is back on.
"Our crews, combined with crews from Douglas County and ODOT, continue to cut and dig their way into the incredibly damaged areas of the county. Their efforts are producing re-opened roads and accessibility in many areas. What they are revealing is complete devastation. Trees too numerous to count have brought down an incredible amount of our system," the co-op reports.
Elkton, Scottsburg, Curtain and the Upper Smith River area are listed as communities where power could take up to three weeks to restore. Scotts Valley, Elkhead, and the Umpqua/Tyee and Hogan Road areas could go up to two weeks without power.
Photos: Snowstorm damage in Douglas County, Ore.
As of mid-morning on Monday, more than 4,800 customers, or about 54 percent of those in the co-op's coverage area, were still experiencing outages.
Farmer Koehler said it’s been a struggle, but every day gets a little better. Still, many of the trees on their hillside are snapped like twigs. Some fallen trees damaged their vineyard and some farm equipment. And heavy snow collapsed the roof of a hay barn. Of course, the power is out, and dry firewood is running low.
"You develop a huge respect for the pioneer ancestors who got through entire winters you know, I’m hoping to get through three weeks without power they got through entire winters," Koehler said. It helps to keep things in perspective, she said.
Koehler also applauded the electric cooperative workers who are working around the clock and all the neighbors who are helping each other out.
"Oregonians are doing themselves real proud down here and I think the per capita of chainsaws and earth movers has got to be tops in the nation," she said.