The three electrical power companies serving the Creswell area, Emerald People's Utility District, Lane Electric Cooperative and Pacific Power, reported varying numbers of power outrages as the result of a rainstorm packing gusty winds that hit southern Lane County on Monday evening, Nov. 16.

Rural areas experienced far more outages than did areas within city limits, and although outages were scattered around Lane County, the heavily timbered foothills east of Cottage Grove had the greatest incidences of power losses.

Hillary McBride, Community Relations Officer for EPUD, whose service area includes rural areas around Creswell's city limits, reported that all of the utility's line and tree crewmen worked throughout the night to restore power to approximately 1,200 EPUD customer-owners.

"With 550 miles of line, all in rural areas, we had widespread outages throughout the EPUD district," McBride said. "The first calls began around 8 p.m. on Monday night from the Cottage Grove and Junction City areas.

"Soon after, EPUD began experiencing small scattered outages in Coburg, Eugene, Creswell, Fall Creek, Dexter, Pleasant Hill and Marcola," she said, noting that crews had reported wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour.

"Most outages lasted only a couple of hours, but there were a few lines down that required daylight to be restrung," McBride said. "As of 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, there are only five to 10 customers without power."

Dave D'Avanzo, Manager of Member & Regional Affairs for Lane Electric Cooperative, which serves rural areas west of Creswell, said that of the 100 to 150 members that experienced power outages, only one was in the Creswell area.

"We had a handful in the Veneta/Crow/Central Road area, a few up the McKenzie, some in Lowell and Oakridge but most were concentrated in the Cottage Grove/Dorena/Row River area," D'Avanzo said.

"All the problems were caused by limbs," he said, "we didn't lose a single power pole or cross arm, although there were a few downed lines."

D'Avanzo said that lack of major damage was at least partially attributable to the utility's active right-of-way clearing program.

A spokesman for Pacific Power said that no calls have been received reporting power outages in the utility's service area, which encompasses properties within the city limits west of Interstate-5, as well as the Emerald Valley area east of the freeway.