The Associated Press
ASHLAND, Oregon (AP) -- A 150-mile stretch of highway that was shut down in a fast-moving snowstorm in California and Oregon reopened in both directions, freeing commercial truck drivers who were the last ones stranded.
Northbound lanes on Interstate 5 opened Monday afternoon to vehicles with chains; southbound lanes were reopened around 11 p.m. At that time, only commercial truck drivers were still stuck on the road, said Jared Castle, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation.
“Some wanted to wait it out and we gave them the option,” he said Tuesday.
An estimated 250 to 500 vehicles were stranded overnight when Siskiyou Pass was closed Sunday night, said John Vial, district manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation. Motorists began to leave the area late Monday after spending a long, frigid night in their vehicles with little food or water.
Crews spent the day clearing roads, pulling cars out of snowbanks and shuttling supplies -- even some portable toilets -- to the stuck drivers before leading them down the mountain pass Monday afternoon. Volunteers with snowmobiles also helped out.
“We also gave motorists the option of abandoning vehicles and going to shelters. Some did that,” Castle said. “Then we deployed pusher trucks to touch the vehicles and get cars going. Some of the snowdrifts were 5 to 6 feet and it was slow going.”
Tow truck driver Kevin Wyatt spent the night digging out cars and trucks. “It’s just been miserable,” said Wyatt, his face smeared with soot. “They thought it was a light storm and it just came down super, super fast. After they got stuck we couldn’t get up here fast enough. When it snows four inches in two minutes, you can’t do nothing.”
The National Weather Service said as much as 2 feet of snow had fallen along Interstate 5, which was shut down from Redding, California, to Ashland. State police said some drifts were 6 to 7 feet high.
A 57-year-old Oregon man stranded near the summit died of a heart attack after helping other drivers, authorities said.
On the California side, stranded motorists were able to leave shortly after noon Monday, and there were no injuries or accidents to report, said Sgt. Don Jordan of the California Highway Patrol.
Wind from the storm caused more than 200,000 power customers in California and Oregon to lose power.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said 186,000 of its customers in northern California lost power after the storm hit Sunday night. By Tuesday morning, just 3,000 customers were in the dark. In addition, about 2,200 Pacific Power customers in the Yreka, California, area, just south of the Oregon line, had no electricity.
In Oregon, 42,000 power customers were in the dark Monday. By Tuesday, at least 13,500 customers were without power, most of them in the populous mid-Willamette Valley area. Most were expected to be restored by late Tuesday.
Castle said Tuesday was a good day for people to drive home from holiday vacations. “We have another storm on New Year’s Day,” he said. “I’ve told everybody to get home today and kiss grandma goodbye.”