Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1908-03-19
WORST STORM OF WINTER,
Railroad Traffic Stopped Throughout
Pacific Northwest

uUodo SNopPoo SeG'SSs
Pacific Northwest
Portland, Mar. 15.-While no SER
ious property damage has been re-
ported, the heavy storm OF wind ana
rain that has been raging without let
up since Friday is by all odds the
worst of the past year There are
no prospects of early abatement and
great destruction of property
throughout the northwest may re-
suit, for the storm is general
throughout this entire region.
Passenger traffic on the o. r. d
n. has been completely tied up since
Saturday afternoon as the result or
an enormous landslide at Wyeth. No
east or westbound trains have been
sent through in SO hours, and the
track will not be cleared before to-
day, as huge masses of soft earth
keep ooZing down the mountain-slde
as rapidly as the steam shovel is
clearing it away. Four eastbound
passenger trains tried to get through
since o'clock Saturday evening, but
all We're stalled, and had to be
brought back to Portland.
Many of the passengers who had
left on one or the other of these
trains were routed via the Northern
Pacific, but it is doubtful If they
will succeed in getting through, be-
cause number of heavy slides have
occurred on that road between here
and Tacoma.
Hood River people sat in darkness
last night. Churches, hotels, and
such homes as were provided, were
Illuminated by kerosene lamps, Ian
terms and ancient tallow dips. The
light and power plant was put out of
business early in the storm, and no
trains went east or west during Sun
day.
The volume of water rushing down
Hood River is greater than at any
time since it's power was harnessed.
Only an intermittent telegraph and
telephone service was possible and
conditions promise to be worse to-
day.
Pendleton is also in a bad, if not
in very serious way, for the Una
tilla river ragged like torrent all
day yesterday and is rising at the
rate of four inches an hour, threat
ening the town with a flood as SER
ious as that which devastated it two
years ago.
Willamette valley points are apt to
suffer considerably, though no great
damage has been done so far and the
train service on the Southern Pacific
has been maintained without inter-
ruption. The rainfall has been un-
usually heavy throughout the valley
and all tributaries to the Willamette
are leaping up their banks steadily,
hour by hour, and are expected to
keep on rising for several days.
A number of log booms in the
Cowlitz river have been ripped loose
from their moorings and are hurting
down the river.
Between 8 o'clock Saturday after
noon and p. m. yesterday the Will
lamette river came up five feet at
Portland. There is a strong current
running and indications point to
steady rise for several days to come.
Heavy rains have fallen throughout
the valley and all tributary streams
are bank full.
During the "a hours ending Sun
day at 5 D. m. 1.S2 inches OF rain
fell. Between noon Friday and last
evening the precipitation was Z.S2
inches. The amount of rainfall for
the "a hours just passed has been
for the month OF March
three times since the establishment
of a weather station at Portland. In
1877 the fall was 2.35 inches, in
1888 2.25 inches in 1902 1855 inches.
The rainfall was steady but at no
time was there an excessive down
pour.
The wind attained a velocity Of SO
miles an hour at North Head and at
TatOosh Island. The general direc-
ton was south and southwest. The
storm is moving rapidly eastward
and this morning is raging over Brit
sh Columbia. Storm warnings are
still out over coast ports and strong
5outherly winds are looked for today.
Rain will continue, but not steadily
as yesterday. t