2019 February Winter Storms Spotlight

During the February 23 to 26, 2019 timeframe, a stationary frontal system lay across the state and generated heavy rain and wet, heavy snow that fell across the region.

Starting on February 23, 2019 rain and snow fell along a frontal boundary that stretched from the south - central Oregon coast to the northeastern part of Oregon. The heaviest snow fell east of the Cascades with 6 to 18 inches of accumulation during the late afternoon of February 23rd.

The heavy snow continued through February 26 in many locations across the state with Lane, Douglas, and Jefferson counties being the most severely impacted by this hazard. The amount of heavy snow in Lane County was up to 22 inches. Douglas County received 4 to 12 inches on top of saturated soils, the biggest snow event since 1965.

On February 24, National Weather Service winter storm warnings were in effect for much of Oregon as well as flood watch and flood warnings for portions of Southwest Oregon. The storm brought heavy rain over much of Southwest Oregon, which later turned to snow as cold air moved into the area.

Initially, Douglas County received over 2.25 inches and Lane County 1.92 inches of rain which changed over to heavy snow during the late afternoon. Over 10 inches of rain fell over coastal Coos and Curry counties on February 24 and 25, causing flooding on the Coquille River, with over 6 inches of rain reported within a 24-hour period in Gold Beach, while around 9 inches was reported near Brookings, Oregon.

Heavy snow knocked down trees or tree limbs into spans of power lines and encased lines with snow and ice causing major power outages in Jefferson County. Central Lincoln Cooperative Inc., serving Jefferson County, reported that their entire customer base was without power due to downed transmission lines. Some customers were without power for up to six days.

The wet heavy snow in Lane and Douglas counties downed thousands of trees which caused major power outages and block major transportation corridors, isolating numerous communities and stranding motorists and passengers on public transport.

Major roadways were impacted due to landslides, high water, and fallen trees. Major routes included Interstate 5, Highway 58, and US Highway 101.

The closure of Highway 58 from mile posts 13 to 86 impacted local residents of the city of Oakridge (population 3,200), with many being cut off from critical services and without power for 3 days.

Throughout the event, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management helped provide coordination calls with relevant state agencies, impacted jurisdictions, and support entities. To support the response efforts at the local level, the Oregon Emergency Coordination Center activated on February 27th and 28th. Throughout this event, state support included:

• Providing relevant vulnerable populations data for Douglas and Lane Counties
• Deploying public health, mass care, and emergency management support to Lane County
• Supporting coordination of energy refueling for critical infrastructure sites throughout impacted areas

• The American Red Cross managed a total of 5 shelters with 170 overnight stays, with staff and volunteers logging 1,525 hours in Douglas County.
• Douglas County and Lane County Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COADs) were both active during this event. All told, efforts organized by these COADs included more than 1,700 hours of volunteer efforts.
• The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief organization provided approximately 750 meals in Oakridge (Lane County) and 150 in Drain (Douglas County), provided a laundry and showers in Elkton (Douglas County), providing almost 500 hours of volunteer effort.
• Team Rubicon deployed 26 volunteers to Lane County, contributing almost 1,000 hours of work, including chainsaw crews for downed trees and clearing ice and snow.
• For two weeks, a church affiliated with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) operated a warming shelter in Veneta (Lane County) that included more than 200 overnight stays and over 500 meals.

A joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) was conducted for local governments and certain private non-profits for potential financial federal assistance under FEMA's Public Assistance (PA) program. The PDA was conducted on April 8 through April 12, 2019 to assess damages in Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jefferson and Lane Counties.

This process involved coordinating with local emergency managers, public works departments, and utilities to document damages and costs associated with the repair of critical infrastructure, power, and roadways. The most severe impacts were damages to public utilities, roads, culverts, debris removal and emergency protective measures.

From these assessments, the estimated costs for this disaster are categorized as follows:

• Category A (Debris Removal): $4,934,072
• Category B (Emergency Protective Measures): $601,360
• Category C (Roads and Bridges): $719,137
• Category E (Public Buildings): $474,365
• Category F (Utilities): $23,124,453
• Category G (Parks/Other): $175,556
• For a total estimated cost of roughly $30,028,943.

A major presidential disaster declaration request was forwarded to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Thursday, April 18th.

In addition to damages to local governments and certain private non-profits, the Oregon Department of Transportation has requested emergency relief under the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for damages to major transportation networks within Oregon. The total estimated cost requested underneath this program is roughly $10,547,963.

On May 2, 2019, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Oregon and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides from February 23 to February 26, 2019.

Federal funding is available to State, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides in the counties of Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jefferson, and Lane.

Furthermore, Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Pete Gaynor, Acting Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Rosalyn L. Cole as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the State and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-approves-oregon-disaster-declaration-2/