Dangerous ice storm scars cities with damage, causing major disruptions

ERIN TIERNEY-HEGGENSTALLER / THE CHRONICLE. Like much of the country, the Southern Willamette Valley is gob-smacked by dangerous winter weather conditions, bringing nearly all activity to a halt. Freezing rain struck late Friday evening, Jan. 12, and conditions only worsened through the early part of this week, prompting closures of area hospitals, schools, and gas stations. The eerie sound of creaking branches could be heard through the silence often accompanied by a freshly snow-covered landscape. The freezing rain led to widespread power outages due to fallen trees on power lines, leaving nearly the entire cities of Cottage Grove, Creswell, and much of Springfield without power for well over 24 hours. Roads, like the above photo of First Street in Springfield, were blocked by fallen tree limbs.

No community was spared from the intense grips of a relentless ice storm. Blasts of arctic gusts up to 20 miles per hour and an accumulation of up to 4-6 inches of ice brought cities in the Southern Willamette Valley to its knees, prompting power outages that affected thousands and suspending hospital services, transit, schools, and everyday life for several days.

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