ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 30, 1996 TAG: 9612300120
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SEATTLE
SOURCE: Associated Press
The Northwest was pummeled by its second major storm in less than a week Sunday as 2 feet of snow, heavy rain and high winds blocked major highways, collapsed roofs and closed the Space Needle.
Blizzard warnings were posted for northwestern Washington, where snow was piled by bone-chilling gusts as powerful as 90 mph. Compounding the problems was heavy rain, which created an icy glaze and led to flood warnings for parts of Oregon and the rest of western Washington.
``Basically, we're paralyzed,'' said Neil Clement, director of emergency management in northwest Washington's Whatcom County. ``Even the snowplows are getting stuck. That's how bad it is.''
Washington Gov. Mike Lowry declared a disaster in 11 western counties and mobilized the National Guard. And a symbol of Seattle, the 610-foot-tall Space Needle, was closed because heavy, wet snow and ice was falling in ``something resembling missiles,'' said spokeswoman Lynn Brackpool.
Travel ground to a halt throughout the region. Seven to 10 inches of snow fell on Seattle overnight on top of 6 to 12 already on the ground. Transit officials canceled bus service when most of the vehicles were stuck in the snow or just frozen to the ground. Most taxicabs would carry only people with medical emergencies.
All three main routes across the Cascade Range in Washington - Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass, U.S. 2 over Stevens Pass and U.S. 12 over White Pass - were closed by multiple avalanches. Officials said there was little chance they could be reopened before today.
Avalanches also closed a 45-mile stretch of Interstate 84 on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge, and one just west of Cascade Locks trapped a pickup truck. Both occupants escaped safely.
``It almost looks like water but it's snow and it's moving that fast,'' said Ron Scheele of the Oregon Department of Transportation. ``Once we scoop it up to get it out of there, more snow replaces it.''
One man was feared dead on the Oregon side of the gorge when the backhoe he was using to clear away ice jams at the foot of the 620-foot Multnomah Falls slid into the water. The man apparently was working as a private contractor to clear the jams away from nearby railroad tracks. The cab of the backhoe remained submerged late Sunday.
Service was drastically curtailed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Several hundred passengers had to spend the night there because airline crews couldn't reach the airport on snow-and ice-covered streets, said Anita Risdon, a Port of Seattle spokeswoman.
In Oregon, ice caused a two-hour power outage at Portland International Airport's southern terminal during the morning, delaying flights for half the airport's passengers. Another power outage darkened the airport Thursday.
Most Amtrak passenger routes between Washington and Oregon, and into Vancouver, British Columbia, were canceled. And the westbound train from Chicago was held up in Spokane until the tracks could be cleared.
Interstate 5 was closed around Seattle when clogged drains caused water to rise as high as car doors.
High winds along the Oregon coast toppled dozens of trees, closing several highways. The wind hit 98 mph at the coastal town of Netarts.
Washington's Whatcom County and neighboring parts of Canada's British Columbia were hardest hit. Whatcom County got more than 2 feet of snow overnight, and the 90 mph gusts dropped the wind-chill factor past 50 degrees below zero.
State Patrol officers were abandoning their cars in Whatcom County, and police in Everett - 25 miles north of Seattle - had to make their patrols in four-wheel-drive vehicles borrowed from the Public Works Department.
``We've had to basically abandon our patrol cars,'' said police spokesman Elliott Woodall. ``We put chains on them and they still can't maneuver on the side streets.''
A few miles north of the border, about 100 cars with an unknown number of people were snowbound at Abbotsford, British Columbia, police Sgt. George Lukefeld said.
One family took in 40 stranded motorists, he said.
``Most people sort of stay home, stoke up the fire but there are those who feel they can brave the elements and just don't make it,'' Lukefeld said.
The weight of a week's worth of snow and frozen rain also took its toll. In suburban Seattle, police reported roof cave-ins at a Drug Emporium outlet and a Kmart store.
The roof at the new Entiat High School gym in the central Washington town also collapsed Sunday. No injuries were reported.
Roofs also collapsed at 17 of the 19 structures at the Port of Edmonds marina north of Seattle, sinking about 270 of the 400 boats moored inside.
Three live-aboard boats were evacuated before they sank.
Ironically, snow and ice problems outside the arena in Vancouver canceled the professional ice hockey game between the Canucks and the San Jose Sharks.
Puget Sound Power & Light, western Washington's largest private utility, reported 131,450 outages Sunday afternoon, and the number was rising, said spokeswoman Kristen Wappler.
It was as low as 65,000 before the new storm hit.
Seattle City Light had 1,000 customers without electricity Sunday afternoon and Portland General Electric said it had 20,000 without service.
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Ice-covered planes are grounded at Troutdale,by CNBOre., Airport on Sunday. The Troutdale area is still held in
winter's icy grip. 2. Christal Larson (right) directs a van driver
helping to push a car out of a snow bank on a Seattle street Sunday.
The van failed to push the car out. Many cars were abandoned as
another snowstorm howled through Seattle. color. 3. Walt Harris, a
tow truck driver, looks at a truck rig which blew off Highway 395
south of Reno, Nev., Sunday. High winds between 60 and 80 mph made
it unsafe to tow the
truck. As a result of the winds, trucks are prohibited on the
highway between
Reno and Carson City, Nev.