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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Baby, It’s Cold Outside Residents Cope With Outages; Homeless Shelters Nearly Full

Gita Sitaramiah And Mike Prager S The Associated Pr Staff writer

Laura Jenkins curled up in front of her basement fireplace and went to sleep Sunday night.

Sounds cozy, but the South Hill resident would have preferred sleeping upstairs in her bed, except it was too cold there.

She was among 50 Washington Water Power Co. customers whose power was lost early Sunday and wasn’t restored until Monday afternoon.

“The temperature was down to 38 degrees upstairs, so we were almost in real trouble,” Jenkins said Monday.

Utility crews continued to work on restoring power Monday as the region recovered from a winter storm that resulted in winds as high as 40 mph downing trees and power lines.

About 2,000 people coped with shorter power outages, said Dana Anderson, a WWP spokeswoman.

Power to the majority of homes was back by Sunday evening, she said.

Area homeless shelters reported an increase in people seeking refuge after the cold weather blew in.

Twenty to 30 people came to the Union Gospel Mission on Sunday night alone, said George Holt, a volunteer.

“We’re close to a full house,” he said.

The Salvation Army took in three families Monday, bringing its shelter to nearly full capacity, said Laurie Meloy, a shelter monitor.

But the arctic cold that blew into the Inland Northwest over the weekend is going to blow away almost as quickly as it arrived.

Forecasters are predicting temperatures above normal by Friday or Saturday.

The upper-level jet stream that brought frigid winds out of the polar regions is expected to shift directions again and bring warmer air from the southwest.

But there is a chance of snow and rain at midweek as a new lowpressure area develops off the Alaska and British Columbia coastlines.

The Inland Northwest was spared the brunt of a strong storm that traveled down the Washington and Oregon coasts Sunday and Monday.

In Western Washington, two men apparently died of hypothermia, or subnormal body temperature, officials said.

David Anaruk, 40, a disabled resident of Harbor Health Care Center in Aberdeen, was found dead in his wheelchair about two blocks from the center Sunday afternoon, police said.

Kenneth Burkett, 51, of Hoquiam, died at Community Hospital after he was found unconscious Sunday in a yard at Artic, near U.S. Highway 101, the Grays Harbor County sheriff’s office reported.

Low pressure from the storm generated high winds across the Northwest as it siphoned cold air from an arctic high-pressure system.

The wind-chill factor - the combined effect of the cold and wind on exposed skin - hovered at 20 degrees below zero Monday.

Meanwhile, only a half-inch of snow fell in Spokane on Monday.

Cold weather is expected to continue tonight with a low of 14 degrees and a high Wednesday of about 30. But then temperatures are expected to warm each day until they reach the low 50s by Saturday.

The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Gita Sitaramiah and Mike Prager Staff writers The Associated Press contributed to this report.