January 8, 2008
Mid-Columbia residents
were surprised Tuesday morning when a thick blanket of snow, not
the expected thin sheet, covered the region.
Heavy snow between 6-8
inches deep collected in the Hood River Valley starting shortly
after midnight Tuesday.
One of Hood River’s main
thoroughfares, 13th Street, was shut from 2 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on
the hill between State and May streets when a fuel tanker got
stuck just south of Sherman Street.
Police and public works
put up a string of flares and “Road Closed” signs as Space Age
Fuels driver Dennis Pacholke waited for J & L Towing to show up.
Pacholke, en route to
Nobi’s on the Heights, said he broke two sets of chains trying
to get up the hill. Frank and Spencer Hughes of J & L had tried
at 7 a.m. to pull the truck but the tow winch broke and they had
to take it back to the shop for repairs. At 8:15, the Hughes
team returned to the scene.
“Our saviors!” joked
police officer Erin Mason, who was stationed at the scene with
Officer Don Cheli. By 9:30 a.m. 13th was open again. The
officers detoured traffic to 17th Street for the morning.
One type of vehicle not
on the roads was school buses: schools were closed in Hood River
County (except for Cascade Locks, which started one hour late)
and in most districts in Klickitat and Skamania counties, and
North Wasco District was two hours late.
The Columbia Gorge
Commission canceled its Tuesday meeting, set for Hood River. The
meeting will be rescheduled. The Port of Hood River commission
also canceled its Tuesday meeting. They will not reschedule but
move the business items to their next regular meeting date on
Jan. 22.
