Tillamook County Emergency Management – County Update 1/14/24 @10:30am: First responders and public works officials reported that the roads, in some places, such as Manzanita, Juno Hill and between Tillamook and Bay City, Nehalem hill and south county areas, were actually worse today then yesterday. Descriptions of skating rinks and just horrible were the statements. Public works in Manzanita couldn’t keep their sander on the road and multiple roads blocked by trees. TPUD reported about 1,000 customers without power, with crews continuing to work to get power restored. Multiple outages have occurred during the day today. The county road department was given high marks for getting sand down on county roads; there is a slide on Bay Ocean Road that will have to wait until things warm up for removal. All public works departments are busy with tree removal. County emergency management, first responders, TPUD crews and public works crews ask that folks continue to stay off the roads; the conditions remain hazardous and it’s safer for everyone if there is little to no traffic. Stay safe and stay warm. The “great thaw of 24” is coming tomorrow and into Tuesday to the coast as the temperatures slowly warm up. Remember – even as temperatures warm, patches of ice will remain in some areas.
Most/many businesses remain closed and/or are closing early. Call before you go – or better yet, wait it out one more day.
Here’s the statement from 1/14/24 @1:30pm Dan Weitzel, Public Works Director, City of Manzanita
Good Afternoon everyone,
I hope everyone had power and heat through the night. TPUD is currently in the process of restoring power in parts in Manzanita that still have lines down. ITS VERY SLICK!! Streets we were able to somewhat navigate yesterday, I was not able to today. We lost power to the reservoir site this morning for TPUD to make repairs. Weather over the next few days shows Cold! Looks like it should make it above freezing in the day(maybe) and refreeze at night(20’s). We have been sanding the roads the best we can. Even our sanding machine has slid off the road a few times in the hill areas. Most of the steep hills in the north area we just can’t get the sanding unit on. A big thank you to Josh Hamilton as he has been working with me yesterday and today. The hope is that we will be able to get the equipment around tomorrow and start clearing and clean up. It is a mess! My guess at this time is over 20 trees and tree tops are in the ROAD. There is also lots of trees and limbs down on private property. Sun heats the wires large chunks of ice are falling that would cause injury. Its still not safe out there.
I am meeting twice a day with the county and everyone is doing a outstanding job with the conditions.
National Weather Service Forecast Office Portland
Sunday, Jan 14, 2024 – 8AM
Cold Temperatures through Tuesday. Freezing rain inland Tuesday and Tuesday night.
KEY POINTS
• Unseasonably cold through Tuesday (13-16 Jan), especially overnight.
• Freezing rain Tuesday through early Wednesday across inland areas.
CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS BRIEFING
Added details for freezing rain for Tuesday and Tuesday night in the valley.
WEATHER RISK OUTLOOK
Risk levels incorporate potential impacts from weather hazards and likelihood of occurrence for a reasonable worse case scenario.
