Portland Parks and Rec prepare for downed trees, power lines over weekend
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – As high winds and low temperatures move in, Portland Parks and Recreation crews are on high alert.
They may be waiting for an influx in calls over the weekend, including downed trees in roads and sidewalks, but crews have already responded to a few emergencies earlier in the week.
“Stay indoors off the streets which will be slippery. It's just safer,” Paul Anderson with Portland P&R said.
Winds are expected to pick up Friday night through Saturday, so Anderson said they have 24 arborists on standby – totaling to about five different crews available to deal with emergencies.
However, Anderson said some areas are cause for more concern in these weather events.
“It's really more event specific sometimes when there's big east winds,” he said. “...There are a lot of new trees in the west side of the Willamette. So, there is dramatically depending on what kind of storm we're having: ice storm, snow storm, wind storm.”
The city’s Urban Forest crews have been maintaining trees in places like Essex Park in Southeast Portland. These crews have been in two or three parks every single day since May, according to Anderson.
That means there's a lower risk of downed trees in the park.
“About 75% trees are sitting on the property, which are outside of our purview. But when they fall into the right of way, what are the sidewalk, Urban Forests – we will respond to anywhere in the city and help.”
If there's a tree emergency involving downed wires, first call your utility provider and then call Portland P&R at 503-823-TREE (Press 1) for the fastest way to report tree emergencies on City property, including public streets and roads. For non-emergency tree-related questions matters, email trees@portlandoregon.gov.
If you spot a downed line, call 911 and then report the outage to Pacific Power at 1-877-508-5088.
Never touch a downed wire with your body or any object. Report any downed line immediately to PGE by calling (503) 464-7777 or 1 (800) 544-1795.