A man works to clear debris on a parked car on Center Street in Salem on Saturday, Feb. 13. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
The sound startled people from one side of town to another: c-r-r-a-c-c-k-k.
On street after street, in yard after yard, trees and shrubs crumbled under the weight of ice that hit Salem overnight. Getting from here to there was a challenge as city crews and volunteers hurried to clear streets.
By Saturday afternoon, nearly 100,000 homes and businesses across Marion County remained without power, and were likely to stay that way until Monday.
The subfreezing temperatures that helped set up the ice storm started easing by late morning. McNary Field, Salem’s airport, reported a temperature of 38 by 1 p.m. Saturday.
Portland General Electric, providing service to the bulk of the Salem area, on Saturday afternoon reported by zip code the number of customers out of power and the estimate of when lights would go back on:
97301: 14,350 – noon Monday
97302: 15,208 – 1:15 p.m. Monday
97303: 5,733 – noon Monday
97304: 13 – 9:15 p.m. Sunday
97305: 10,526 – 1:15 p.m. Monday
97306: 10,988 – 7:30 a.m. Monday
Salem Electric early Saturday reported 6,000 customers out of power but it posted no estimates on when electricity would be restored.
A driver works around debris on Northeast 19th Street in Salem on Saturday, Feb. 13. Streets throughout the city were impassible after the ice storm. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Crews work to clear a downed tree on Court Street in downtown Salem on Saturday, Feb. 13. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
A city worker clears debris on Liberty Street in downtown Salem on Saturday, Feb. 13. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
City workers and volunteers work to clear debris from Northwest Glen Creek Road in Salem on Saturday, Feb. 13. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Sibyll Durham of west Salem uses candles to heat her coffee, and a fireplace to warm her breakfast Saturday morning. Durham is one of thousands of Salem residents without electricity after an ice storm Friday night. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
A fallen tree blocks Northeast Center Street in Salem on Saturday, Feb. 13 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
A utility pole leans among the debris on Northwest Parkway Drive in Salem on Saturday, Feb. 13. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
A cable weighted by ice stretches across Northwest Palli Drive in Salem on Saturday, Feb. 13. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Ice coats branches broken from Flowering Cherry trees near the Capitol on Saturday, Feb. 13. Trees in Salem’s parks were heavily damaged by an ice storm.(Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Ice shattered trees near the Capitol on Saturday, Feb. 13. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
RELATED COVERAGE:
Thousands waking up in Salem without power – but plenty of ice
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Photographer Ron Cooper and his wife Penny moved to Salem in 1969 to take a job as photographer at the Oregon Statesman (later the Statesman Journal). Their three children, Monica, Kimberly, and Christopher, attended and graduated from Salem public schools. Cooper retired from the Statesman Journal in 2001 but, has continued his passion for photography in many ways, including as a photographer for the Salem Reporter.
