OTA Dispatch Issue1, 2021

22 Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch AS IF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC and devastating wildfires weren’t enough for the state to contend with, Mother Nature decided to give Oregon the cold shoulder in February 2021. Substantial snow and ice hit the northern Willamette Valley, but neighbors to the south—particularly Marion County—experienced an unprecedented ice storm. Power outages lasted weeks instead of days. Under the weight of the heavy layer of ice, limbs on mature trees snapped off while other trees were completely uprooted. In all, the devastation was extreme, but as always, resilient Oregonians recover quickly—with some help from the trucking industry. Portland General Electric, which serves a large portion of utility customers in the Willamette Valley, were working day and night to address all of the outages—from snapped wires to downed power poles. Luckily, trucking companies were there to lend a hand, including OTA member Leavitt’s Freight Service in Springfield. As the thaw began, the team at Leavitt’s loaded and hauled new poles to outage areas. Severe Winter Weather Hits the State By Christa Wendland, OTA Communications Consultant Mother Nature vs. Oregon