PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - About 350,000 homes lost power around Oregon when a storm slammed the state with winds topping 90 mph, downing trees and closing sections of major highways.

The state's largest utility, Portland General Electric, said about a third of its customers lost power. The utility serves much of the Willamette Valley in Portland and Salem.

As the storm slackened, crews began restoring power.

PGE said it had cut its outage total from 245,000 to 180,000 by 5 a.m. But it said repair work would be under way through the weekend and possibly into next week.

Pacific Power, which covers much of the rest of the state, reported an early-morning outage total of 78,000, covering customers in both Oregon and Washington. At the peak, the utility said, outages numbered 105,000.

Amtrak said it had canceled service between Seattle and Portland on Friday because downed trees and mudslides blocked the tracks. It said bus transportation would replace some canceled trains.

At Portland International Airport, 30 flights were cancelled, said spokesman Steve Johnson. About half the cancellations were for inbound flights, half for outbound, he said.

"I would say the windstorm had a major influence on the cancellations," he said. "This is quite a few more than what we see in a usual day, even in the winter time."

Many schools closed, and others delayed opening for an hour or two.

Colder temperatures were expected as the storm passed and winds calmed, bringing heavy snow to lower elevations.

It was one of the worst outages for PGE since Dec. 12, 1995, when a storm knocked out power to 46 percent of the Portland-based utility's customers.

"That shows you the effect of the combination of wind and downed trees, said Mark Fryburg, PGE spokesman.

Among the towns affected in Pacific Power's territory were Lincoln City, Corvallis, Roseburg, Coos Bay, Grants Pass, Hood River, Roseburg, Stayton, Lebanon, Dallas and Albany, said Bekki Witt, Pacific Power spokeswoman.

"It could be into Saturday until we know the extent of the damage," Witt said.

PGE was calling in crews from other Western utilities. Pacific Power also was considering whether to bring in assistance from other utilities.

Fryburg said customers should avoid downed power lines and report them immediately to the utility or call 911 if they looked to pose any serious danger. "Electricity can travel through water on the ground," he said.

Much of the damage was caused by falling trees and limbs knocked down by winds that gusted past 90 mph on the Oregon coast and up to 80 mph in the Willamette Valley.

A gust of 97 mph was recorded at Rockaway Beach before 5 p.m. Thursday on the coast, while gusts reached 80 mph in Salem and 62 mph in Portland.

Garibaldi and Lincoln City recorded gusts topping 90 mph on the coast, and wind reached 48 mph in Corvallis and 46 mph in Hillsboro.

The Coast Guard said various river bar entrances had been ordered closed to maritime traffic, including the Columbia, Chetco, Coquille, Nehalem, Rogue, Siuslaw and Umpqua rivers. Also closed were the bars to Tillamook Bay, Netarts Bay, Siletz Bay, Depoe Bay and Yaquina Bay.

Oregon Department of Transportation reports showed several highways leading from the Willamette Valley continued to be closed early Friday, including highways linking the valley and the coast and, through the Cascade Range, Central Oregon and the valley.

"It's just too unsafe out there to take chances with peoples lives," said ODOT District 4 Manager Bob Doran.