Flightline Field Tour

Rounded up a few folks from the Marys Peak Field Office to look at one of their ongoing timber sales called "Flightline." The sale has been plagued with one issue after another, the most recent of which was a debris flow which washed down hill and took out the haul route.  This particular trip was interesting because we all knew it was going to be cold.  What ended up happening was near-freezing temperatures and rain.  As the sun went down that evening, everything froze, but the rain kept falling.  And it persisted for another 24 hours.  The result was everything coated in half an inch of ice.  All of Salem, Portland, Corvallis, and everywhere in between was coated.  Dozens and dozens of transformers blew up, and probably half of every tree in the area sustained some damage.  Roads were closed - everything from small dirt roads up to I-5.  We were without power for five hours, but most places were without power for a week.  As a result, school was dismissed for a week and most folks from work had no internet.  Basically everything ground to a halt for a week.