counties in Washington were without electric service after a Bonneville Power Administration high voltage transmission tower was destroyed by high wind. Crews from around the United States and British Columbia worked for weeks to repair system damage. Numerous streets and highways were flooded and impassable, including twenty miles (32 km) of the region's main north–south artery, Interstate 5 near Chehalis, Washington, that was closed for several days because of flooding from the Chehalis River, which was under about of water; the recommended detour added about four hours and 280 miles (450 km). Amtrak train service between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia was also disrupted. I-5 remained closed until late Thursday December 6 when it was open to commercial traffic. It reopened to all traffic sometime the next day. According to Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire, damages from the storms may exceed a billion dollars. Oregon Flooding from the Nehalem River and landslides caused the city of Vernonia, Oregon to be completely cut off from the rest of Oregon. Some residents were evacuated by the Oregon National Guard. Along the Oregon coast, both landline and cellular phone service remained out for several days due to damaged cables. The storm's intensity was compared to the Columbus Day Storm, which caused widespread wind damage to the Pacific Northwest in October 1962, and the Willamette Valley Flood of 1996, which produced widespread flooding. All highways between the Willamette Valley and the central and northern Oregon Coast (including U.S. Route 26, U.S. Route 30, Oregon Route 6, and Oregon Route 22) were closed for most of December 3 because of flooding, trees blocking the roadway, or landslides. Flooding along the Salmonberry River damaged sections of the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad so severely that they will probably never reopen. The storm also killed a 700-year-old Sitka spruce known as the Klootchy Creek Giant, once considered the largest sitka spruce in the world. Winds snapped the tree, a popular tourist destination along U.S. 26 east of Cannon Beach, Oregon, at about above the ground. On December 3, Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski declared a state of emergency for Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, and Yamhill Counties. On December 11, the Oregon Department of Transportation closed U.S. Route 30 five miles (8 km) west of Clatskanie due to landslide danger by debris-clogged Tansy Creek. As of December 21, 2007 Washington, Clatsop, Columbia, Polk, Tillamook, and Yamhill Counties were eligible