Hermiston police take to using snowballs Jan. 20, 2024, to quell a call of Jurassic proportions. HPD reported the snowball fight was short but intense, and it turns out dinosaurs have neither good range nor aim. The battle ended with both with cops and dinos parting as friends.

HERMISTON — The recent winter storm that blew through Oregon led to local school closures, and shutdowns of Interstate 84 in Eastern Oregon.

Hermiston had 9 inches of snow — including 7 inches of new snow — Friday, Jan. 19, according to data from the National Weather Service, while Pendleton had 6 inches. Hazardous driving conditions led the city of Pendleton on Jan. 19 to close several roads to through traffic.

Hermiston uses a three-phase system with its city snowplows to clear snow and ice, starting with main streets and ending with residential neighborhoods.

According to the city’s website, the goal of phase one is to clear and maintain the main traffic routes through the city.

From there, and if snowfall or other accumulation has stopped, phase two begins, with crews moving into the hill routes and downtown commercial areas. City crews still monitor the phase one routes to keep them in the best condition possible. City staff also work to clear municipal buildings, the airport and public parking lots during the late night or early morning.

In phase three, crews move into the residential areas, and personnel and equipment work in a counterclockwise rotation throughout the neighborhoods.

Umatilla County Commissioner Dan Dorran noted the county had to curtail operating hours of offices and the court starting Jan. 17.

Dorran said he is happy with Umatilla County Public Works Director Tom Fellows and the road crew and how well they are maintaining the roads they are responsible for.

“We’ve gotten a lot of compliments on our county roads,” Dorran said. “We prioritize them. First of all, is to get the kids to school. We don’t go out in the middle of the night like the state does. We definitely don’t have the money for that kind of overtime. So what we try to do is get started first thing in the morning.”

Dorran said he learned a great piece of winter driving advice from his mother, who grew up in Wyoming.

“She told me, ‘Never drive faster than you want to ditch,’” he said.

Weather shuts down I-84

The Oregon Department of Transportation on Jan. 16 closed Interstate 84 between Troutdale at milepost 17 and Hood River at milepost 64 due to an ice storm. ODOT reopened that portion of the freeway the following day.

The state transportation department reported freezing rain and slick conditions early Jan. 18 led to numerous vehicle crashes on I-84 near milepost 220 about 10 miles east of Pendleton. ODOT closed the freeway eastbound and westbound between Exit 216 (7 miles east of Pendleton) and Exit 265 (4 miles east of La Grande) for about five hours.

Rich Lani, ODOT District 12 manager, said the snow and freezing rain caused familiar traffic snarls east of Pendleton in the Blues Mountains.

“For milepost 220 on Cabbage Hill we had multiple commercial vehicles off the road, get tangled up together, and block the road,” he said. “When that happens we can’t get our trucks through to treat the road, so we get behind and have to wait for the commercial vehicles to get their chains on or get towed out of the way. And then we have to catch up on it.”

The westbound lanes of I-84 in Eastern Oregon again shut down the morning of Jan. 20 for about three hours, this time from milepost 374 (3 miles west of Ontario) to milepost 199 (west of Pendleton) due to an early morning crash at milepost 202.

“The trucks not chaining up and then coming down the grade at Cabbage Hill, when they can’t stop or see well, makes the westbound direction very dangerous,” Lani said.

Highways 204 and 245 were closed Jan. 20 to nonlocal traffic. ODOT at the time advised against travel if possible.