Wind topples trees, rain closes Mt. Bachelor lift

It was snowing earlier Wednesday on Mount Bachelor, but that’s not what has most people concerned. Heavy rains and strong winds have been causing issues in central Oregon for the past few days.

According to Wade Fagen, owner of Fagen Tree Service and Wood Chips, “We’ve probably had about seven or eight people call in in the past few days (about downed trees), mostly smaller branches. We actually did have one huge pine tree blow down.”

However, branches are bound to break due to these high winds. Fagen also says there’s a way to prevent trees from breaking at homes.

“The thing I would tell people to look out for with most trees is forked trees. At some point in time those will break out and we can go through and take out the weaker fork, and it will heal and become a good tree,” Fagen said.

Rain also closed Mt. Bachelor’s Pine Marten chairlift.

“When the rain falls, it reaches through much of the snowpack and can kind of deteriorate it,” said Stirling Cobb, the resort’s marketing and communications director :”Keeping the groomers, as well as skiers, off the hill is just an effort to maintain it for the couple days we are receiving rain.”

There were several gusts over 100 mph at the summit of Mt. Bachelor overnight, as five inches of new snow in 24 hours pushed the base toward the three-foot mark.

Cobb said if the snow persists at Bachelor, the Pine Marten chair lift should be open Thursday.