The Oregon Poison Center tells KATU it received close to 20 carbon monoxide exposure calls over the weekend. Typically, it only gets about one.
The medical director said he's urging people to not keep alternate heat sources inside.
"It should be outside of the house, it should be away from any air intake so that no carbon monoxide gets in the home. The other thing is to avoid trying to heat your house through sort of alternative methods like the oven or a barbecue," Rob Hendrickson said.
In Clackamas County, the medical examiner confirmed four carbon monoxide related deaths over the weekend. Four others were sent to the hospital on Tuesday. "This is a prolonged event and the use of generators isn’t as widely used in this area. We don’t tend to see these long-term power outages where people would have to rely on that sort of alternate power and heat source," Clackamas County Battalion Chief Brandon Paxton said.