Storm damage & after the routes

11:30 pm.

Half a million people are in the dark now.  Major highways are closed all around the region.  Traffic accidents abound.  The MAX light rail lines are not running on the west side – downed lines and the trains don’t work – buses are compensating (brave drivers!)

I still have power, obviously, but who knows for how long.  The winds (62 mph (100kph) gust recorded in downtown Portland minutes ago) have cleared my balcony.

Re the lost climbers: Mt. Hood has seen a 93 mph gust already.  Rescuers have been pulled off the mountain – the sustained winds are too strong to stand in.  All three men’s families are in Hood River, hoping for the best, but conditions there on the mountain look to prevent any attempts at rescue until the weekend.  The families are upbeat and positive – thankful to the rescuers, who are, literally, risking their lives for strangers.

Almost an inch of rain has fallen already here, with More on the way.  Lots more.  Total blizzard conditons exist in the Cascades – zero visibility.  A foot of snow has fallen, with 6 to 12 inches more to fall.

The coast has been hammered all day.  Supposedly the front of the storm has passed Portland and is over the Cascades to the east, where 110 mph wind gusts are expected in white-out conditions.

The news at 11 results… Lots of people will be looking to their newspapers tomorrow, but I get no extra pay to risk my life, so fuck it, they can watch TV.  I may just stay home where it’s warm and dry.  $45 isn’t worth it to me.

More as it happens, stay tuned.

AFTER THE ROUTES

So, I waited til the winds died down to normal levels and set out to do my two routes.  I skipped four street racks in Milwaukie – but they don’t sell for shit anyway, so no great loss.  I got back to the paper building just a little later than normal, so I went ahead and did the whole SE Portland route, and finished about the normal time.  Enough time to shower before the bus driving job.

(set myself a record- 900 odd papers, 89 stops, in a little under 4 hours)

There were tree limbs down all around, but nothing blocked my way, and nothing fell on me.  The stepvan is about out of gas – the boss didn’t fill it up, and had it died, I woulda walked home and left the pos.  Would serve him right.

Coffee’s done, and the shower is hot – time to go.

Later alligator.

*****