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Click Here 42 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, January 31, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend December 16, 2003 A snow-covered Roxy Ann Peak catches a glint of Monday�s rising sun above a Foothill Road orchard. Recent rains have pushed the Rogue Valley into the normal range of precipitation for the season and well above the normal for December. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Weekend snow causes outages The good news is that rain in the valley pushed Medford’s moisture slightly above normal levels By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas atop the mountains surrounding the Rogue Valley, but there was little to be merry about among those living amid the snow. This weekend’s heavy, wet snows caused power outages for thousands of families in the high country across Southern Oregon and Northern California, but the majority of Jackson County was able to keep the home lights burning. A small afternoon outage in the Butte Falls area and the loss of power to about a dozen customers in the Union Creek area were the only disruptions to electrical service Monday, Pacific Power spokesman Monte Mendenhall said. That followed a spate of outages Saturday triggered when snow-laden tree limbs dropped onto power lines throughout the region. "That heavy, wet snow certainly created some problems," Mendenhall said Monday. "But for the most part, we came out of it pretty much unscathed." Advertisement But don’t tell that to the 50 Medford Water Commission customers near Butte Falls who had to boil their water when Monday’s outage and a backup system failure caused a "slug" of untreated water to leave the commission’s Big Butte Springs facility. Those customers feed directly off the commission’s main distribution line before the water reaches the main treatment facility; their water is treated with chlorine at the springs — so long as the system has power, said commission Manager Ed Olson. "This happens maybe once a year," Olson said, adding that the problem was expected to be corrected Monday evening. A tree over a line near the Butte Falls Highway’s intersection with Highway 62 just before midnight Saturday triggered a loss of power for up to 14½ hours for some of the 278 affected Pacific Power customers, Mendenhall said. Similar tree-triggered outages hit customers in the Williams and Applegate Valley areas as well as slices of real estate in southwest Grants Pass and many customers between Gold Hill and Rogue River along the Rogue’s southern bank. In all, about 6,000 Pacific Power customers in Jackson and Josephine counties lost power for some time over the weekend, Mendenhall said. That’s nothing compared to other areas in the region. In Douglas County, 6,000 customers remained without power well into Monday evening as electrical crews removed tree limbs that fell across lines in remote areas. Pacific Power called in crews from out of the area to help restore power, Mendenhall said. All 11,000 Pacific Power customers in Del Norte County in Northern California were without power this weekend from similar problems with downed trees, Mendenhall said. Despite continued cold weather, respite is on the horizon. The National Weather Service has forecast cold but dry weather through Thursday, except Jackson and Josephine counties will see a 20 percent chance of rain Wednesday. Through 4 p.m. Monday, the weather service station at the Medford airport reported 6.51 inches of precipitation for the season since Sept. 1 and 3.22 inches for the month. The "normal" values are 6.40 inches and 1.38 inches, respectively. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times