More than 2,100 households in a rural area between southern Deschutes and northern Klamath counties lost power after multiple trees fell on power lines Thursday afternoon.

Kimberly Hannon, a marketing and communications associate for the La Pine-based Midstate Electric Cooperative, told The Bulletin she learned about the outage around 3 p.m. Thursday.  It affected 2,136 households.

Hannon said the trees fell in the Gilchrist and Crescent area along state Highway 58 and were likely downed by wind and snow. She said crews have been dispatched to remove the trees but said there’s no estimated time for when power will be restored.

The area impacted ranges from Gilchrist south to Kirk Road in Chiloquin, Hannon said. Updates would be posted to the company’s social media accounts, Hannon said.

The area includes some of Central Oregon’s smallest and most remote communities between Bend and Klamath Falls.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning Thursday afternoon for the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains — including the La Pine and Sunriver areas — until 4 a.m. Sunday.

Temperatures could be as low as the teens on Friday and Saturday night and single-digits Sunday night. Between 16 to 40 inches of snow is expected areas near La Pine and Sunriver and gusts of wind as high as 60 miles per hour. 

“Travel could be very difficult to impossible,” the warning states. “Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Strong winds could cause tree damage. The cold wind chills as low as 25 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.”

The weather service urges people to keep an extra flashlight, food and water in their vehicles in case of an emergency should they travel.