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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Mt. Ashland Ski Area celebrates snow 10 things to know for Wednesday Police Reports Choirs combine in 'songs with a purpose' 10 things to know for Tuesday Education Bowling for knowledge Sharing black culture It's alive! SOU students create thought-provoking art SOU students targeted in Drive Less campaign Environment Mt. Ashland Ski Area celebrates snow GMO opponents can join Jackson County in defending ban Grant will help restore 'legacy' oak habitat in Southern Oregon and Northern California Mt. Ashland Ski Area crew dips to five Mt. Ashland Ski Area announces layoffs Business Ride & Drive: 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Silvio Calabi: Range Rover Sport, the off-road GT Where do Ashland’s top chefs go to dine? Ride & Drive: The 2015 BMW M4 Silvio Calabi: Jeep’s Patriot earns respect Politics and elections Oregon's second in command abruptly returns from capital Mark L. Hopkins: Ranking the Obama administration Kent Bush: Fraud kept alive by the left and right Amid rising scrutiny, governor says fiancee won't have role in administration Ashland Fiber Network wants to be able to keep trade secrets State News Oregon's second in command abruptly returns from capital Albany father allegedly killed by son had worked in Ashland for 25 years Amid rising scrutiny, governor says fiancee won't have role in administration Two new wolves confirmed in Southern Oregon, state reviewing status of northeastern packs State records show number of big marijuana farms has increased Nation - World Obituaries Claire G. Craft Theodore F. "Ted" Carter James Fredrick Death Notices Dan Lamont Smith Shareable This $1 million Mercedes is like an armored private jet for the road Sports Latest Stories Crater girls, boys cruise to victory in Midwestern League blowouts Beavers' great Bill Enyart dies Surprise! Beavers are back Adams: 'Oregon it is!' SOU's Meister earns player of week award High school Crater girls, boys cruise to victory in Midwestern League blowouts Grizz boys' upset bid falls just short in loss to Churchill Layton picks Western Oregon Ashland girls go 6-1 in multi-team dual meet Raiders, at last Southern Oregon University Beavers' great Bill Enyart dies Surprise! Beavers are back Adams: 'Oregon it is!' SOU's Meister earns player of week award No. 17 Raiders take surprise tumble at Northwest Opinion Latest Stories Tom Loewy: A testimony haunted by murder Granlund cartoon: Jon Stewart’s replacement Letters to the Editor, Feb. 11 Our View: Kitzhaber's Delilah? Our View: GMO ruling was correct Editorial Our View: Kitzhaber's Delilah? Our View: GMO ruling was correct Our View: The benefits are mutual Wolves in our woods Our View: Bricks remodel is a smash Letters Letters to the Editor, Feb. 11 Letters to the Editor, Feb. 10 Letters to the Editor, Feb. 6 Letters to the Editor, Feb. 4 Letters to the Editor, Feb. 2 Guest opinions Council Corner: Transforming Ashland for the future Chris Honoré: Public schools: separate, still unequal Guest Opinion: Why so anxious to tax marijuana? Herb Rothschild Jr.: A good day for peace Guest Opinion: A message to my health care colleagues Revels Latest Stories Bleep Bloop Community blog: Charles Darwin at the Ashland Library 'A Most Violent Year' is a taut, cerebral film Steep Ravine, T Sisters play the Unitarian Fellowship Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhibits by regional artists Theater Looking inside yourself and finding a character is magic Classics, premiers highlight 2015 season for OSF Roy Orbison tribute hits high note Music Frisell brings fine-tuned act to Armory The Farr Side: Trainor building a music niche A laid-back chat with Marilyn Manson Roy Orbison tribute hits high note Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhibits by regional artists Movies Movie review: ‘Leviathan’ tells a whale of a human tale Movie review: New ‘SpongeBob’ movie mops up with surrealistic goofiness Movie review: The Wachowskis rebound with sci-fi epic ‘Jupiter Ascending’ Movie review: A slow but sturdy study of corrupt politics and fragile families in ‘Leviathan’ 'A Most Violent Year' is a taut, cerebral film Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Tammy Kelly: Healthy at-home Valentine’s Day meals (and desserts) for two Community Blog: Singing for Peace - Kaleidoscope of Voices 5 Things to Do This Weekend (Feb. 13-15) Donna Knight: Meatloaf holds lessons Lost in Suburbia: Beep goes the strings of my heart Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business NEWS NOW Mt. Ashland Ski Area celebrates snow ... Oregon's second in command abruptly returns from capital ... Our View: Kitzhaber's Delilah? ... Mt. Ashland Ski Area celebrates snow ... Oregon's second in command abruptly returns from capital ... Our View: Kitzhaber's Delilah? ... FRIDAY STORM Heavy rain, high winds flood roads, topple trees Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune DailyTidings.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 6, 2015 @ 9:50 am Updated Feb 6, 2015 at 6:09 PM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 6, 2015 @ 9:50 am Updated Feb 6, 2015 at 6:09 PM » Social News Road and maintenance crews will earn the chance today to dig out, clear out but not dry out from Friday's storm that washed out roads, downed trees and swelled urban creeks. More than 2 inches of rain fell in Ashland and more than an inch fell in Medford Friday, but only a quarter of those totals and much less wind is expected today as the second of three storms forecast for the region moves in. Ashland's winds will ebb to 20 mph and Medford's will wind down to 15 mph, according to the National Weather Service. "We'll be chasing water, we'll be chasing trees and cleaning up all weekend," said spokesman Gary Leaming from the Oregon Department of Transportation, which grappled Friday with mudslides and creek overflows that closed a 13-mile stretch of Highway 66 deep into the afternoon. While tonight might bring a halt to the rain, another front will move into the coast Sunday evening and inland Monday to bring more of the same, weather service meteorologist Fredric Bunnag said. A combination of water, mud and high winds conspired Friday to cut Greensprings residents off from the valley. A raging Emigrant Creek jumped its banks at the Highway 66 bridge and flooded the roadway there near milepost 1, while ODOT crews faced a mudslide that cloaked both highway lanes near milepost 14. Also, several downed trees blocked Hyatt-Prairie Road between Highway 66 and Dead Indian Memorial Road, isolating Greensprings residents until Highway 66 reopened at about 3:20 p.m., said John Vial, Jackson County's roads and parks manager. Tyler Creek Road was closed after a failed culvert there caused the road to wash out near milepost 3, and high water covered the road at its intersection with Buckhorn Springs Road, leaving both impassable most of Friday. Wagner Creek Road was closed at milepost 4 because winds toppled trees over power lines, and the road will open when Pacific Power crews can fix the lines, Vial said. The volume of runoff in the city of Ashland late Monday morning began to tax the city's stormwater system with clogged drains flooding streets. Ashland Fire & Rescue activated its Citizens Emergency Response Team shortly after noon to begin creating sandbags in anticipation of growing water problems. "We'll get these sandbags out for people to use if they need them," Fire Marshal Margueritte Hickman said. "We just want to be ready." There was plenty to get ready for. Ashland had Friday rainfall totals ranging from 1.75 inches to 2.24 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The Buckhorn Springs gauge hit 2.64 inches, accounting for why that area southeast of Ashland erupted with water problems Friday. But what was forecast to be rain on Mount Ashland turned out to be snow, giving hope to skiers and snowboarders locked off the mountain for close to two months due to a dearth of snow. "Mother Nature erred on our side for a change," ski area Manager Hiram Towle said. While Medford saw its Friday rainfall levels hit 1.19 inches, there were very few problems in Oregon's first city designated as "storm-ready" by the Weather Service. The only street flooding occurred around Lewis and Eighth streets, where water volumes were simply too much to handle for Elk Creek, a small Bear Creek tributary. "Elk Creek's grade is just too flat to move a lot of water," Medford Public Works Director Cory Crebbin said. Neighbors were busy laying out sandbags around a flooded house on Beverly Way in Jacksonville, and there were initial reports of a mudslide in the Savage Creek Road area near Rogue River. Conditions were progressively worse toward the west, near Cave Junction. The rain gauge at O'Brien measured 5.4 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, and ODOT crews scrambled to address water spilling onto highways. High water closed two of the four lanes of Highway 199 at the Sauers Flat area, a low-point east of Cave Junction. Water also was crossing Highway 238 between mileposts 20 and 23 near the town of Applegate. Brookings saw its rainfall levels hit 4.59 inches, but it and other coastal towns saw less rain than earlier forecast. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune DailyTidings.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 6, 2015 @ 9:50 am Updated Feb 6, 2015 at 6:09 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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