According to spokesman Cory Grogan, preliminary figures from the County indicate this month’s ice storm cost a minimum of $400,000 in infrastructure damage – a figure that is likely to rise, possibly considerably, with a fuller accounting over time.
Also, the Health Department alone logged about 114 hours of service responsive to the storm, with 68 of those hours focused on harm reduction.
The estimated cost for overflow sheltering is around $50,000 to $60,000. Beyond which, the County invested approximately $500 in purchasing tents and sleeping bags to replace ones damaged during the storm. With partner support, they were able to provide shelter for more than 50 folks each night.
City of Corvallis spokesman Patrick Rollens said their Public Works personnel worked 24 hours a day during the snow and ice event, with staffers taking 12-hour shifts. And, this wasn’t just street crews – fleet mechanics needed to keep the City’s relatively small stock of plow trucks in good working order – which was also a 24/7 need.
Water and wastewater workers, given all the underground pipes and other infrastructure that is susceptible to damage during a weather event like this, were also working. Rollens said, “They investigated dozens and dozens of system alarms related to these critical infrastructure systems from about Saturday night until Wednesday evening. As you can imagine, cold temperatures combined lots of debris and precipitation entering the pipe system has the potential to create big issues for these large utility plants.”
While folks tend to focus on roads and power during events like these, Rollens emphasized that safe drinking water is equally critical.
And then, there was the Corvallis Fire Department. They ran about double the calls they typically respond to each day, which is about 30 calls in a 24-hour period. Over the weekend, that number was more like 60 to 70 calls in a single 24-hour shift.
Over the course of the event, the County’s Search and Rescue completed 65 critical transports, including medical staff transportation and prescription medication deliveries.
At The Advocate, we noted fewer traffic collisions than anticipated, and Grogan said, “Getting information out sooner about local efforts and encouraging people to stay off the roads during ice storms made a difference.”
On the other hand, both the City and County took some criticism about the road conditions over social media.
Impacts on Drivers
Rollens said, “Regarding street prep, we don’t use traditional bulk rock salt like cities back east do. Typically, we start our winter weather prep by applying liquid de-icer to main thoroughfares and key intersections. This stuff works best when applied to bare, mostly dry pavement. We didn’t have those conditions at the outset of this weather event – rain turned to freezing rain, which froze overnight into a sheet of ice.”
Also, the City doesn’t have the equipment found in colder climes. Rollens said, “Our snow plows have hard rubber tips on their blades, which is great versus sloppy wet snow but mostly useless against a sheet of ice. So once the freezing rain froze solid overnight, we couldn’t use de-icer or plows, and had to go straight to sand.”
He also said the City has a limited number of vehicles capable of laying down sand and gravel, so those vehicles are typically assigned to work primary travel corridors during the critical early hours of a snow or ice event.
Importantly, both the City and County had work crews treating roads and dealing with downed trees from the beginning on Friday, Jan. 12. By the following Tuesday, the City had used almost half of its entire stock of sand and gravel, according to Rollens.
City, County Seek to Improve for the Next Time
The one thing certain after an emergent event concludes is that sometime, there will be another. So debriefing, learning, and improving is also part of the response.
During the Jan. 16 City Council Meeting, City Manager Mark Shepard said next time the City will be working earlier with Search and Rescue on transporting healthcare workers over hazardous roads to shifts at the hospital. The common refrain from many healthcare professionals was they wanted to help, but didn’t believe they should be on the roads. This meant staffing shortages In the beginning of the event.
Rollens said, “At one point on Monday, we had six ambulances waiting to drop off patients at Samaritan Hospital so they could return to service and respond to additional calls.”
The unhoused also needed a more robust response. County Commissioner Xan Augerot noted that with City personnel unable to staff the library and such, a number of the warming options the County relies on to help the unhoused turned out to be unavailable. She also noted the need for more sheltering for residents experiencing power outages.
On the subject of roads, Grogan said the County will be looking for a more impactful way to communicate road closures as they occur during future snow and ice events.
Grogan also said, “There was a 41% increase in 911 calls, so we’re planning to share more info on when to call 911 during future situations. Challenges like slip-and-fall injuries were noted, and hospitals were extremely full with double the incoming patient load arriving via ambulance. Additional challenges were had by all impacted hospitals in the region due to the lack of ability to discharge patients safely (due to outages and road conditions). We’re considering more local warming centers or shelter options to support all community members including those with Access Functional Needs, the unhoused, and households without power.”
EDITORIAL: LESSONS FROM THE ICE
We applaud the City and County’s response over the course of this storm and its aftermath, and equally their quick pivot to debriefing and looking to improve for the next such event. Doing this while memories are fresh is essential, and being this public about it is commendable.
We do think both the City and County should review how other municipalities de-ice their roads during events like these. We understand the City may have already done this in the last few years, but we also think there’s probably ever-improving options out there. Equally, we think the public should be offered some cost/benefit options, and a fresh opportunity to offer input and increase their understanding.
We also appreciate that folks apparently took prior events into account as they considered their driving, Over this last weather event, there were more slip-and-fall injuries than auto collisions injuries, and the former, for all the discomfort they may cause, are less dangerous than the latter.
Not coincidently, a day into the iciness, we saw locals on social media sharing photos of their traction devices for footwear – a number of which we Advocateers can confirm as worthy. So, we’re hopeful folks will shop these metallic underfoot add-ons for the next time. Our favorites tend to be Yaktrax for chain and microspikes, and combos of the two – and we have one hiker among us that swears by Kahtoola microspikes as being especially geared for ice like what we sometimes get here.
We also saw people familiar with driving in icy conditions stepping up to offer rides for those that aren’t – it was neighbor helping neighbor, and we love it when that happens.
We will say that many folks still felt quite stranded, and some were also without power – and we do think this is an opportunity to… well… nag. We think considering generators can make sense, and we also think it can help to have stocks of water and food on hand. How much stock, you might ask – well, according to Benton County’s Public Information Officer, Cory Grogan, two weeks is about right.
Grogan points out government can’t always anticipate when disaster might strike, and that catastrophic events can hamper emergency personnel – same as anyone else.
So, maybe you’ll never really need to know how much water you’d want on hand per person for a two-week period – but, like if you’re curious about that number, here’s a link to an Oregon Department of Emergency Management webpage that has such nerdly factoids.
And here’s a bonus shopping tip: during non-emergencies, Costco has plenty of water bottles, and they’re cheap. And now, our nagging is complete.
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com