A state of emergency had been declared for the town of Vernonia following a massive power outage that is affecting about 2,300 residents following s storm that struck the Northwest Tuesday night.
Marc Farmer, general manager for West Oregon Electric, reports that the outage occurred when the Bonneville Power Administration lost power to a substation after a tree struck a power line.
The outage occurred at approximately 1:14 a.m. Wednesday, the Vernonia Police Department (VPD) reports. It is expected to be restored sometime between 7 and 9 p.m., Farmer says.
Meanwhile, VPD says officials are concerned about the possibility of flooding after the town received 2 feet of snow. The water level is currently stable, but that could change officials say.
The Red Cross has set up a warming shelter at the Vernonia Community Church.
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Faris Tanyos
