LAKE COUNTY — Authorities are warning motorists to slow down during snowy and icy conditions after a weekend that was far from a winter wonderland for some Lake County drivers.
Sunday morning marked Lake County”s first snowstorm of the season. According to the National Weather Service, Lake County remained under a winter weather advisory until midnight on Monday. The NWS advised drivers to be prepared for slippery roads and limited visibilities. Snow chains are required in the county”s higher elevations, and numerous crashes and traffic delays were reported throughout Sunday and into Monday.
“Many crashes are caused by driving too fast for current conditions,” California Highway Patrol officer Adam Garcia said Monday.
The CHP responded Sunday to three stranded motorists and six crashes that caused only property damage, all snow-related. On Monday, Garcia said the CHP respond to six stranded motorists, four property damage crashes and one crash that resulted in injury before noon.
“These numbers only account for the collisions that were reported to the CHP,” Garcia said.
Clear Lake Riviera resident Brad Chatten said he witnessed accidents all around him as he drove home from Lower Lake Sunday night, up the Glascow Grade on Highway 29. Chatten said as he drove approximately five miles per hour, he saw one driver pass him and two cars in front of him.
“Right after that car passed, somebody came down the other side, sliding sideways and hit the guard rail behind me,” Chatten said.
Chatten said he also saw a pickup truck in front of him cross the opposing traffic lane unscathed, and an oncoming car cross his lane and hit a tree.
When he got to the top of the grade near Diener Drive, Chatten said he saw “cars everywhere, pointing in various directions.”
The Lake County Public Works Department issued a notice that snow chains are required for the duration of the storm on all roads in the Cobb area, on Socrates Mine Road and on Seigler Canyon Road in the Lower Lake and Middletown areas. In Upper Lake and Nice, chains are required on Elk Mountain Road and on Bartlett Springs Road. Lake County Roads Superintendent Steve Stangland said with approximately 24 county personnel maintaining approximately 600 miles of road, his crews can”t be everywhere at once.
“We had people passing our plow trucks this morning (Monday). We would like to urge people to slow down and take their time, especially around corners and on grades ? and please don”t pass our trucks,” Stangland said.
Traffic conditions are updated on the Lake County Web site, www.co.lake.ca.us, and on the CHP Web site, www.chp.ca.gov, as needed. According to the NWS, snow is expected through Tuesday morning at levels of 1,000 feet and lower in pockets.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
