Update on Oregon's Snowpocalypse 2019

As many of you well know, our main sanctuary headquarters just so happens to be in what's being called "Ground Zero" of the Oregon Snowpocalypse 2019... Douglas County. Thus far the sanctuary reports to they and most in the community as being completely without any source of power including cellular phones and no direct word of update from Douglas Electric Co-op to customers directly is yet extended into areas such as theirs that have no other means of news.

Thankfully we have the ability to get word from reporting local media in the hopes of word reaching to the areas most devistated, including our own sanctuary headquarters and those members enduring it.

So, as of right now the word is that "Electrical systems in the vicinity of Elkton, Drain, Curtin and Scottsburg could be down for another three weeks" meaning just as members suspected, the sanctuary area will be among the very Last worked toward restoring power.

For other of our members an affected communities, they say that "Systems in Umpqua, Tyee and east and northeast of Oakland should be operating in two weeks. Those in Melrose, Camas Valley, Tenmile and Lookingglass could be operating in one week. Some residences in those areas may be without power even longer, while individual lines are repaired." Here is an actual picture diagram that a concerned member sent in for us to share from Douglas electric themselves:

"They prioritize the repairs that will bring power up for the largest number of customers as quickly as possible" which ultimately means that those such as our sanctuary will likely be out of power longer than the masses in and or near bigger established cities and communities within Douglas County Oregon.

Douglas Electric Cooperative spokesman Todd Munsey publicly addressed the situation saying that the cooperative serves a 2,200-square-mile territory, much of it heavily timbered, with a mile of line serving an average of six homes: “We serve the most rural parts of Douglas County. We serve where other utilities do not want to. This is the reason they did not want to,” Munsey told inquiring media.

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners declared a countywide emergency Wednesday, three days after the storm began. That morning, there were an additional 6 inches on the ground from a second snowfall that began Tuesday night. On Thursday, Gov. Kate Brown declared an emergency for Douglas and ten other counties hit by severe winter weather.

The declarations are intended to make it easier for county and state to work with each other and with private contractors to address the emergency. Ultimately the county may qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding. Douglas Electric’s costs alone will be millions of dollars, Munsey told local media.