The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Oregon Beach Weather
No Estimate For Reopening All Lanes Of Hwy 30
New Details Posted Dec. 20 — One lane of U.S. Highway 30 will remain open with flaggers through Christmas and New Year’s Day even when landslide repair work between Astoria and Clatskanie pauses for the holidays.
“Please plan for extra travel time between the Portland area and north coast no matter what route you take as holiday travel season gets busy,” a relased from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) states. “On U.S. 30, please watch for flaggers and expect delays 24 hours a day.”
ODOT crews have been working on repairs daily, including weekends, to reopen the highway after this major landslide the night of Nov. 29 at mile point 72.
“This was a large landslide compared to other landslides that we get in the coast range,” ODOT District 1 Maintenance Manager Mark Buffington said. “The rock was definitely larger than what we are used to. We usually just get mud and trees.”
ODOT opened one lane with flaggers at nights only Dec. 4-11 to allow rock scaling during the daytime.
“We needed to remove large sections of rock on the verge of falling before it was safe for traffic or crews at the highway level,” the release states.
Since Dec. 11, ODOT has been able to keep the flagged lane open 24/7 while scaling of smaller sections of loose rock continues above the highway.
“We have been using two scaling crews instead of just one,” Buffington said. “The loose rock is much higher than the slides that we are used to having.”
As of Dec. 20, ODOT could not give an estimated date when it would be able to reopen additional lanes due to the amount of material that needs to be removed – from both the bluff and the highway level.
ODOT reminds drivers not use to a GPS to detour on less developed roads.
“This can be dangerous for you, especially in winter weather conditions,” the releases cautions.
Before you travel, visit http://TripCheck.com
ODOT advises that the best way to get timely updates on U.S. 30 – and all Oregon highways – is on Tripcheck.com. We post road and weather conditions, highway closures, crash locations, traffic speeds and more as quickly as possible there. You can also see traffic camera views.
Slow down in wintry weather and leave plenty of space between you and other vehicles. Remember, it takes longer to stop in wet and/or freezing conditions. Also bring traction devices if you cross snow zones and know how to use them.
Three million people throughout Northern California and Southern Oregon woke up early Tuesday morning to an earthquake alert on their smartphones.
Some received the alert seconds before they felt Tuesday’s earthquake off the coast of Humboldt County: a moderate to strong temblor at 6.4 on the Richter scale , according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Others who got the alert didn’t feel the earthquake at all ― but they could have, according to the USGS.
“ShakeAlert performed exactly as planned,” said Bob de Groot, early warning system’s operations coordinator at the USGS’s Pasadena office.
When USGS sensors near Fortuna, California, registered the temblor, the 2:34 a.m. alert went out to anyone who might be affected: North to the Northern California-Oregon border, south to the San Francisco Bay Area and San Jose, east past Shasta County and northeast as far as Medford, Oregon.
For an earthquake its size, it was the most widespread ShakeAlert sent since the system went up in California in 2019.
The reason so many people got the warning was the quake had tremendous possibility to affect a widespread area, de Groot said. The shaking from deep strong temblors ― the one in Humboldt County started deep in the Gorda Plate ― have the potential to travel far from their source.
With three tectonic plates bumping and sliding against each other, the area near Fortuna is “pretty complicated,” de Groot said. “There’s a lot of action there.” There were 40 quakes with magnitudes of 6.0 and higher in the past 100 years near Fortuna, one of which ― a 6.2 ― hit in December 2021.
When setting up the alert system, geologists also consider the type of ground through which an earthquake travels, de Groot said. That’s because some soil pushes the seismic waves along more than other soils.
Soft soil absorbs more of the seismic waves, slowing them down; but it also makes them bigger, so you get harder shaking.
On Oct. 17, 1989, part of the Cypress Freeway in Oakland collapsed when the 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake hit the Bay Area. The part that failed was built on mud, de Groot said.
“We’re always looking at fine tuning” the alert system, he said. “We learn from every earthquake.”
Some people contacted the USGS to ask why they got Tuesday’s alert when they lived so far away from the epicenter.
“We’re trying our best not to over-alert people,” de Groot said. The USGS is working with social scientists to predict people’s responses to the alerts: How too many alerts for small quakes could make people complacent, etc.
Because different earthquakes can travel different distances and shake at different strengths, geologists want to strike a balance between speed and accuracy.
“There’s the chance more people would be alerted and not feel any shaking,” de Groot said, but “ultimately it’s about safety.”
First pioneered in 2006, the ShakeAlert system was first used in 2018 to warn trains and other industries to brace for earthquakes. It went public in California in 2019, then in Oregon and Washington in 2021.
The California Office of Emergency Services helped fund and set up sensors to detect earthquakes, de Groot said: 1,115 in California.
As of December 2022, ShakeAlert uses a network of 1,675 sensor stations and serves 50 million people from Washington to San Diego.
To see a list of apps for which you can sign up to get alerts in your area go to shakealert.org .
New BottleDrop Facility Opens To Serve North Bend And Coos Bay
A new BottleDrop Redemption Center is now open in North Bend. Coos Bay and North Bend mayors were on hand for the ribbon cutting last Wednesday, along with other local and state officials.
It’s located at 1701 Newmark Street in North Bend.
The facility, which serves both cities, has a new bulk counting device called the Stream Count AI on site, only the second in the state, which counts large amounts of containers instantly.
Eric Chambers with the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) says it’s the first full-service redemption center in the community.
“That comes with a number of advantages. Customers can bring 350 containers per day in instead of 144. They can sign up for the super easy Green Bag Program where you put glass, plastic, metal containers all in the same bag. You put a sticker on it that associates it with your account. You drop it off here at this facility, and the funds are automatically uploaded to your account.”
Chambers says Oregon’s redemption rate is about 80 percent each year, beating the national average of 33 percent.
He says this better enables residents to get their 10-cent refund and cuts down on litter. The state averages 2 billion containers returned each year.
Freezing Rain Forecast for Parts of Oregon as Arctic Blast Threatens Holiday Travel
Oregon will be hit by “freezing rain” over the next couple of days, as an Arctic blast makes its way across the U.S., potentially causing widespread disruption in the days leading to Christmas.
Temperatures are forecast to plummet on Wednesday night, potentially to the low teens, with National Weather Service (NWS) hydrologist Andy Bryant warning Portland could record its coldest temperature since 2014. Oregon should be largely dry on Thursday, with Nelsen urging those who need to travel to go on that day “if you have a choice.”
Between Thursday evening and Sunday, Nelsen forecasts “several waves of rain.” In many areas, this is likely to turn into freezing rain, which freezes as soon as it makes contact after landing.
“Then by Sunday hopefully just about all areas west of the Cascades will be above freezing and Christmas can proceed (with lots of leftover power outages).
Similarly, the NWS’ Weather Prediction Center says to expect “snow, sleet and freezing rain” from late Thursday over northeastern Oregon and western Washington state.
The federal agency added: “This change over to freezing rain is due to a dense arctic air mass remaining in place at the surface while warmer air surges over the region in the upper levels.
“Localized ice accretion of a half inch could create the potential for dangerous travel conditions and scattered power outages.”
Ban On Measure 114 To Stay In Effect
On Tuesday, Dec. 13 in Burns, Harney County Circuit Court Judge Robert S. Raschio ruled that he would continue a temporary restraining order on Measure 114 (M114) until he receives notice from the state on the new permit system to purchase a firearm in the state of Oregon.
M114 passed in November and was scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 8. The measure requires permits, background checks, and completion of a safety class. The measure also bans purchasing magazines that carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
If the measure takes effect, individuals who already own magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds can continue to possess or use them at firing ranges, competitions, or for hunting (if allowed by the law). However, individuals wouldn’t be able to purchase a new magazine in the state of Oregon that holds more than 10 rounds.
The lawsuit — which was filed by Harney County residents Joseph Arnold and Cliff Asmussen, along with the nonprofit Gun Owners of America — argues that aspects of M114 violate the Oregon State Constitution.
On Dec. 13, Ben Callaway, owner of Spent Cartridge in Burns, testified that his distributors would not ship such guns to his store because of M114. He stated that he could only purchase firearms that ship without a magazine.
On Friday, Dec. 23, Rashcio will hear challenges from the attorney general’s office.
Police Say Abandoned White Hyundai Spotted In Eugene Unrelated To Idaho Stabbings
A white Hyundai abandoned in Eugene was found by police to be unconnected to the University of Idaho quadruple murders.
The vehicle had the same description as a vehicle of interest tagged by police in the investigation, giving hope to some that the abandoned car in Oregon would uncover further clues. However, police in Idaho now believe it to be a dead end.
“The vehicle was involved in a collision and subsequently impounded. The vehicle is registered out of Colorado and the female owner is not believed to have any relation to any property in Moscow, Idaho, or the ongoing murder investigations,” the Moscow Police Department said in a Tuesday update. “The public is asked to stop contacting the owner.”
Despite the update, police assured the public that they have assembled a massive team to investigate every individual tip sent in with due diligence, of which the number at this point exceeds 10,000, a police spokesman said. The team will continue working throughout the holidays, a spokesman stressed. The FBI has assigned further personnel to help with the investigation.
Oregon Veteran Home Loan Max Loan Limit Increases in 2023
The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ODVA) will increase the maximum loan limit for the Oregon Veteran Home Loan for 2023, conforming to loan limits for mortgages set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). ODVA will now accept loans up to the new maximum loan amount of $726,200, an increase of $79,000 from $647,200 in 2022, for funding on or after January 1, 2023.
The Oregon Veteran Home Loan Program offers eligible veterans fixed-rate financing for owner-occupied, single-family residences in Oregon. The veteran home loan product is a non-expiring, lifetime benefit for any eligible Oregon veteran and may be used up to four times. The program provides financing for purchases only, and cannot be used for refinancing.
This state benefit is separate and distinct from the federal VA Home Loan Guarantee and has lent nearly $9 billion in low-interest home loans to more than 336,000 veterans since 1945. To be eligible, a veteran must have served on active duty with the U.S. Armed Forces, as documented on their DD-214, and must meet one of the service criteria outlined on ODVA’s website.
For more information about the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs Veteran Home Loan, and program eligibility, please visit www.orvethomeloans.com or call 800-633-6826 to speak with an ODVA home loan specialist.
Oregon’s Homeless Number On The Rise
Homelessness in Oregon increased 22-percent this year compared to 2020.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report which estimated the number of homeless people on a single night last January was 14-thousand-655.
The number of homeless youths declined 19-percent over the last two years.
Oregon Department of Emergency Management Warning
Enjoy the holidays safely with fire prevention:
Keep candles 12 inches away from other objects.
Use a sturdy candle holder that won’t tip over.
Don’t leave burning candles unattended. Blow them out before leaving or going to bed.
Consider using flameless, battery-operated candles.
Medical Examiner Says Body Of Woman Found In Portland Unidentified – Seeks Public Help
The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office is asking for the public’s help identifying the body of a woman who died Nov. 28 in Portland.
The Medical Examiner describes the woman as white, between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. They say she also was about 5′4″ tall, weighing 139 pounds. She had medium to long brown hair with brown eyes.
The woman also had pierced ears, with scars on both forearms and the following tattoos:
- Right wrist: Faith Hope Love
- Left wrist: Amirah
- Right Shoulder: Black and red butterfly
Anyone with information about the woman is asked to call the Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office at (503) 988-0055 and reference case number #MU-221128-812.
