Wind, rain batter coast of Oregon

PORTLAND – High winds and scattered showers pelted much of Oregon on New Year’s Day, blowing over trees, sending muddy hillsides onto roads, flooding rivers and knocking out power to pockets of homes along the Oregon coast.

The stormy weather contributed to at least one vehicle fatality when a pickup was hit by a 50-foot-tall tree that fell on state Highway 26 west of Banks.

The truck’s passenger, Joshua Hojnacki, 25, of Vancouver, Wash., died at the scene.

The driver, Vancouver resident Cory O’Neill, 27, was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland with minor injuries.

Oregon State Police troopers from the Banks and McMinnville offices are investigating the fatality.

In Eugene, high water in the Willamette River was responsible for the death of Brian Niemeyer, 48, who died Saturday while trying to rescue fellow rafters stuck on an island, police said.

Police said that force of the river’s current hit Niemeyer and unzipped his life jacket.

By Sunday, flood watches were still in effect for a few of the state’s rivers, including the Luckiamute River in Polk and Benton counties, the Pudding River in Clackamas and Marion counties, and the Tualatin River in Washington County.

A few road closures were still in effect throughout the state, including U.S. 101 at Gardiner, at the border of Douglas and Lane Counties.

By Sunday evening, the storm had begun moving east across the Cascades, forecasters said.

A snow advisory is in effect for Klamath County and western Lake County, with snow levels expected to hit the valley floor overnight.

Rain is expected to continue this week, meteorologists with the National Weather Service said.