COCC, OSU-Cascades close early due to freezing rain; Redmond Airport shuts runways, more early closures, late openings

(Update: Adding video, Crook County offices to open 2 hours late Friday)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A return of freezing rain that shut U.S. Highway 26 near Warm Springs prompted Central Oregon Community College and OSU-Cascades to close early Thursday afternoon, while Redmond Airport closed its runways and early closures were announced, from courts to libraries.

COCC said it was closing all campuses at 1 p.m. and canceling all classes and events, including remote/online, that were scheduled to start at or after OSU-Cascades said the campus would close at 2 p.m. and advised students to check Canvas for remote class delivery.

And Redmond Airport was laid low by freezing rain, forcing closure of the runway.

Airport Director Zachary Bass said the freezing rain turned the runway into a sheet of ice that can't be easily removed.

“We can't put any objects on the runway, so no rocks and salt," Bass said. "So we have to have bare pavement to do that. We use deicing chemicals and with freezing rain, which we're seeing right now is that rain comes down, it dilutes that chemical and then freezes on top of it, which is why I tell people freezing rain is the absolute worst for airports.”

Track the latest on arrivals and departures at the airport website, but for further details, contact your airline.

There was early word Thursday night of a late start to the day for Crook County government offices. After assessing the weather conditions and forecast, officials decided on a two-hour delay.

The Redmond School District sent notice Thursday morning that "due to inclement weather and road conditions, the Redmond School District is canceling all after-school activities for the day."

The Crook County School District also canceled after-school activities Thursday due to the forecast freezing rain.

The Downtown Bend, East Bend and Redmond libraries were closing at 3 p.m. due to the expected freezing rain Any evening programs at those locations also are canceled.

Deschutes County Circuit Courts also closed in the afternoon.

The Bend Park & Rec District issued this news release late Thursday afternoon:

BPRD closing recreation facilities at 4:15 p.m. on Jan. 18 due to freezing rain

Bend, Ore. – (Jan. 19, 2024) – Bend Park and Recreation District is closing its recreation facilities due to inclement weather at 4:15 p.m.  on Thursday, Jan. 18. Recreation facilities include The Pavilion, Juniper Swim & Fitness Center and Larkspur Community Center.

Scheduled programs as well as drop-in use of facilities will be prohibited due to safety concerns.

BPRD programs scheduled for the evening in non-BPRD locations will also be canceled, including basketball practices and other recreation programs.

Kids Inc afterschool care is occurring and parents and guardians are strongly encouraged to pick up children by 4:15 p.m. if possible.

Keep updated on Operational Changes including cancellations and closures on BPRD’s website.

--

Due to the forecast of freezing rain and travel impacts, Crook County offices also closed early, at 2 p.m. Thursday. A spokeswoman said they will assess conditions for a possible late start Friday and decide by 9 p.m. Thursday.

Jefferson County School District 509J closed all schools for the day Thursday "due to icy road conditions in some of the outlying areas of our district."

On Wednesday, Bend-La Pine and Jefferson County schools and area colleges were closed due to the slick roads from Tuesday night’s mix of rain, snow and freezing rain, much of it atop packed snow from recent storms and sub-zero cold. Meanwhile, Redmond, Sisters, Culver and Crook County 509-J schools opened two hours late.

OSU-Cascades announced it would open the Bend campus at 11 a.m. due to the weather and road conditions. Central Oregon Community College campuses at first were on a delayed opening, with classes before 10 a.m. canceled, but announced around 9:30 a.m. that its campuses would be closed for the day.

Redmond Proficiency Academy canceled classes and activities, as did St. Francis of Assisi School, Seven Peaks School and Eastmont School in Bend, Central Christian School in Redmond and Cascades Academy and Three Sisters Adventist Christian School in Tumalo.

Redmond School District delayed classes by two hours Wednesday morning. School district Public Information Officer Holly Brown said they send crews out as early as 3 .m. to check road conditions before making a decision on delays or closures.

"So it's actually a big team in the morning that makes this decision," she said. "We receive reports from county road crews, Crooked River Ranch road crews, the assistant superintendent of operations, the superintendent -- they all work together really closely and get those reports to make a decision on whether or not it's safe for staff and students and buses to get to the schools in the morning."

The decision is made by 5 a.m., before the first school bus departs. Last week's snowstorm also caused a two-hour delay due to road conditions. School closures or delays can create additional school days in June, but the district does not yet have to make up any missed days, as long as they reach their required instructional hours. 

Warming temperatures turned roads from snow-packed to slushy.

Bend city crews are doing as much as they can to mitigate the slush, snow and ice.

City Transportation and Mobility Department Director David Abbas said, There's Priority 1s, which are the main arterials. Those move the most traffic to business commerce. And then we go to Priority 2 and the collectors are collecting neighborhood traffic and getting them connected to those arterials. We also factor in medical centers, hospital business centers, schools."

Bend Transportation dispatches two crews per day, one for the morning commute and one for the evening commute, but in more serious situations they seek out additional help. The department's operations also depend on the weather. If there's slush, crews will work to plow roads. If there's ice, crews will sand (put cinders down on) roads, creating better traction for drivers.

"It’s been a long week," Abbas said. "We called out the contractors for help a couple of times. We've we've run a variety of shifts, to address what Mother Nature has given us."

With regards to requesting other help, he said, "The on-call contractors, they get into those local residential roads, where our staff is mainly focused on those Priority 1, Priority 2s.”

Despite the warmer temperatures Wednesday and Thursday, the city is gearing up to handle another round of freezing temperatures, plowing and sanding roads around town where necessary.

Here's the rest of Wednesday morning's list of closures and delays:

All Bend-La Pine Head Start classes were canceled Wednesday, while Redmond-Prineville classes are on a two-hour delay, with AM classes canceled.

Deschutes County Circuit Courts were closed, while Crook and Jefferson County Circuit Courts will open at 10 a.m.  The Crook County Court regular session is on a 2-hour delay, starting at 10 a.m.

Crook County School District put out this information:

Crook County School District has called for a two-hour delay this morning due to icy conditions for Wednesday, January 17th, 2024. This will give our transportation department, school staff, and families more time to travel area roads and safely make it to school.

Students riding the bus will be picked up two hours later than the regular time. For example, if your child is picked up by the bus at 7:30am, they will now be picked up at 9:30am. The school day will end at the regular time, and afternoon bus routes will operate on their normal schedule.

If you decide to keep your children home from school today, please call the school to have their absence excused.

Updated School Schedule
Barnes Butte Elementary: 9:50am - 2:05pm
Crooked River Elementary: 10am - 2:15pm
Steins Pillar Elementary: 10:10am - 2:25pm
Crook County Middle School: 11am - 3:31pm
Crook County High School: 11:05am - 3:40pm
Pioneer High School: 11am - 3:35pm
Paulina School: 9:45am - 3:15pm
Brothers School: 10am - 3:30pm

Mosaic Community Health provided this update about their closures and delays:

Due to weather conditions, Mosaic health centers and pharmacies around the region will be operating remotely or experiencing delayed starts as follows:

Closed: Madras High School-Based Health Center, Crook Kids School-Based Health Center, Mobile Clinic, Mosaic Dental - Madras

Remote operations all day: Bend High School-Based Health Center, Mountain View School-Based Health Center, Sisters School-Based Health Center, Harriman Health Center

Remote operations until 1 p.m.: East Bend Health Center, Connors Health Center, Courtney Health Center, Lynch School-Based Health Center, Redmond High School-Based Health Center

10 a.m. delayed start: Madras Health Center, Redmond Health Center, Prineville Health Center

Due to inclement weather, all Mid Oregon Credit Union locations will be on a two-hour delay, opening at 11 a.m. Members are encouraged to manage their accounts using Digital Banking. Stay safe!

Send us your announcements at stories@ktvz.com.