PORTLAND, Ore. — The National Weather Service issued an ice storm warning for the Columbia River Gorge through Friday morning. Cascade Locks, Corbett and Multnomah Falls could see up to two tenths of an inch of ice accumulate and three inches of snow.
“It’s kind of crazy out here in Troutdale,” said resident Dan Koryagin. “They cleaned up our roads a bit and they put some salt on them but it’s still slippery out here and there.”
Koryagin, filling up at a local gas station, was forced to break through an inch of ice covering the gas cap on his car.
“The best way is to crack it like this but after a while it starts to hurt,” Koryagin said punching the glassy coating.
Nearby, I-84 is back up and running after a nearly 30 hour closure lasting through the day Wednesday. The Oregon Department of Transportation reopened the east-west highway around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The agency tweeted Friday that it had lifted chain restrictions for the freeway, but still recommended that drivers carry them.
Semi-trucks and trailers lined the interstate Thursday as drivers stopped to put chains on.
“I don’t think anybody ever really gets used to it but you just have to deal with it when it comes,” said Chris Indermuehle, a truck driver.
Indermuehle crosses the Gorge nearly every week and says chains are a crucial part of the journey near Hood River.
A spokesperson for ODOT told KGW crews are using salt, sand, deicer and snowplows along I-84, doing everything they can to keep the road open. But they also added, as soon as conditions are unsafe, the interstate will be closed again.
Indermuehle says he’s less concerned about the road itself and more about those driving next to him.
“I worry…we got a lot of new drivers on the road these days but there’s only one way to learn. Hopefully, nobody gets hurt while they’re learning,” Indermuehle said. “The school of hard knocks is kind of rough.”