2 adults, teen electrocuted when power line topples on SUV during Portland ice storm

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3 killed after power line falls on vehicle in Oregon

During an ice storm on Wednesday, a tree branch fell and brought a power line down onto a vehicle in northeast Portland. Two adults and one teenager stepped out of the affected vehicle, but where killed by the electric current when their feet touched the ground. A two-year-old that remained in the vehicle was uninjured. Jan. 17, 2024.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Three people were killed, including a high school teenager, when a live power line toppled onto their vehicle during an ice storm in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday.

Portland police and fire officials rushed to the scene after 911 callers reported a power line was down on an SUV and three people were now outside the vehicle unconscious, according to Rick Graves, public information officer with Portland Fire & Rescue. All three were later pronounced dead.

Graves says it appears those inside the car became scared when the live line hit their car and tried to escape. But the three were electrocuted when their feet touched the ground.

Three people were killed when a power line fell across an SUV in Portland on Jan. 17, 2024.

(FOX 12 Oregon / FOX Weather)

A 2-year-old child was found alive with one of the victims and rushed to a local hospital, Graves said.

"That young child looked comply unaware of the situation that just occurred," Graves told FOX Weather. "And it was an emotional scene; it was moving."

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One of the victims was identified as a sophomore at a nearby high school in Milwaukie, according to FOX 12 Oregon.

Graves said if you ever find yourself in a similar situation with a live wire across your vehicle, you should stay inside.

"The best thing to do is ride it out safely in the vehicle," Graves said. "But once you begin to exit, and you touch the vehicle yourself along with touching the ground, you become part of that electrical circuit, and unfortunately, you can have some grave consequences. Wait for professionals to come and de-energize the lines."

Storm left swath of damage across northwestern Oregon

Several trees and power lines fell across the region as hours of freezing rain led to thick ice accretions. Many areas reported at least a tenth- to quarter-inch of ice, with areas closer to the arctic air spilling from the Columbia River Gorge reporting ice of 0.75 inches thick.

At the peak of the storm Wednesday, about 90,000 people were without power in Oregon, although roughly half of those outages were lingering from an earlier ice storm last weekend.

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Ice storm leaves trail of damage in Springfield, Oregon.

Thick ice accretions from back-to-back winter storms in Oregon left widespread damage in Springfield, Oregon. (Video courtesy: @tkranz23 via X)

Springfield, Oregon, resident Tyler Kranz posted video on X showing widespread tree damage under a thick coating of ice left from the two back-to-back storms.

"This is the worst winter storm damage I’ve ever seen (in the Springfield area)," he wrote on X. "Nearly every tree was damaged or downed. Power lines down all over. Pray for Oregon!"

Schools were closed across the Portland and Vancouver metro areas as transit services either shuttered or ran on reduced service. Interstate 84 was closed for much of the day through the Columbia River Gorge due to heavy icing and strong winds, while Department of Transportation crews kept busy clearing wrecks and spinouts on Portland-area freeways.

Graves said his office responded to four times as many calls as on a typical day during the days-long winter storm.

"That ice is weighing down, be it power lines to trees or branches of trees and causing significant issues," Graves said. "The myriad of emergencies that our organization is responding to is continuous and it's widespread."

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Another round of freezing rain Thursday night renews wintry woes

First responders and power crews remained busy Friday morning as a third round of freezing rain pushed through the region overnight. Power outages climbed back over 100,000 early Friday morning as more ice fell on trees and power lines. New ice accretions reached 0.20 inches at the National Weather Service office in Portland.

In Portland, a firefighter suffered a possible broken leg Friday morning slipping on ice while battling a house fire in the city's East St. John's neighborhood, according to Portland Fire & Rescue. The firefighter was pulling a hose line from the fire engine when he slipped on an icy slope, officials said.

But the freezing rain had tapered off Friday morning and all winter alerts have expired, giving northwestern Oregon a much-needed break from frozen precipitation. NWS Portland says through the three storms they received at least a total of 0.75 to 0.90 inches in ice accretions. 

By the weekend, temperatures will climb above average as warmer atmospheric river storms move in off the Pacific Ocean and snow levels rise well above the lowlands.