Big rigs still kept off I-8 after surprise storm
The weather is expected to clear up today and I-8 could reopen to all traffic.
The Associated Press
2/15/2008
SAN DIEGO — A surprise storm lashed San Diego County with rain and snow, stranding as many as 500 motorists on a mountain freeway and pouring mud down onto another roadway but causing no major damage.
The weather was expected to clear Friday.
A 27-mile stretch of Interstate 8, which runs through the mountains in the eastern part of the county and is a main artery from California into Arizona, was reopened before dawn Friday following a 12-hour shutdown.
The California Highway Patrol began escorting cars through, although big-rig trucks still were not allowed.
The freeway was closed shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday when blowing snow and ice made the roadway impassable.
"It was just a big dump of snow, real fast," accompanied by high winds, California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt said.
Cars spun out and hundreds of motorists were stopped in their tracks.
"I've been here for a while and trying to get around, but there's no going around, so you just have to be patient," stranded motorist Patty Kresin told KNSD-TV in San Diego.
Search-and-rescue teams went car to car. Dozens of people were taken to temporary shelters at a fire station and the Golden Acorn Casino in Campo, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
By early Friday, authorities were pretty sure they had found all stranded motorists but teams were still checking for cars that might have gone over the side of the road, Bettencourt said.
The abandoned cars hampered snow plows called in to clear the road.
"Now we have a virtual parking lot of empty vehicles," Bettencourt said. "You've got big rigs that are jackknifed. So it's going to be a pretty daunting task."
Snow also closed Highway 76 Thursday afternoon, and downed trees made it difficult for snow plows to work, according to the CHP. About 6½ hours after the closure, one section was reopened, but only for cars with chains and four-wheel drive.
The CHP also shut down an 8-mile stretch of State Route 78 Thursday between Poway and Ramona because of mudslides.
Crews from the state transportation department reported about 2 feet of mud and rocks sliding onto the highway after heavy rain fell in an area burned by last fall's wildfires.
The road reopened Thursday night but motorists were using it "at their own risk," CHP Officer Larry Landeros said.
The unexpectedly severe weather snarled other roadways. The CHP reported 179 crashes on county roads between midnight and 9 p.m. Thursday, compared to the usual figure of 50 to 75 crashes in a typical day.
The stormy weather was caused by a low-pressure system that originated in the Gulf of Alaska and unexpectedly moved into Southern California.
"None of the models said it was going to do that," National Weather Service meteorologist Ted Mackechnie said.
The storm dumped anywhere from about a quarter of an inch in places to nearly 1½ inches in Ramona.
But it was unexpected snow that snarled mountain roads.
Near the town of Julian, a school bus slid off Highway 78 and it took two hours to rescue the students, the CHP reported. Nobody was hurt.
The wild weather wasn't limited to the San Diego area. Rain, hail and snow fell in the desert near Palm Springs where temperatures had soared to 85 degrees just days ago.