High wind brings multiple power outages to Salem area
This story was updated at 8:10 a.m. Tuesday after power had been restored.
As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, power has been restored to more than 3,400 Salem homes and businesses after they lost power Monday night as high winds and rain swept through the area.
According to Portland General Electric’s outages map, a couple of outages affecting customers in south Salem have been fixed.
An outage in Salem’s South Gateway area was the largest reported by local utilities. Portland General Electric said 3,463 customers had power out starting at 7:44 p.m.
The utility also reported power was out for 94 customers along South River Road as of 4:22 p.m. Monday.
There was no estimated restoration time for either outage as of 8:50 p.m. Both were listed as caused by high winds.
The National Weather Service’s Portland office issued a tornado warning, which was briefly in effect for the Silverton area until 6 p.m. Monday.
A wind advisory for most of the Willamette Valley, including the Salem area, is in effect until 4 a.m. Tuesday.
Gusts up to 50 miles per hour and sustained winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour are possible, the service said.
“Rain showers through the area may produce locally gusty outflow winds with speeds up to 55 mph. Due to saturated soils from the previous day`s rainfall, tree damage is possible which could cause more widespread power outages or structure damage,” the advisory said.
Salem Electric reported multiple power outages in West Salem just before 5 p.m. Power was back on for most people by 6:10 p.m., the utility said. It estimated it would take two to four hours to get power back on for the small handful of homes and businesses still affected.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
