LAKE COUNTY — Snowfall overnight Wednesday and Thursday morning caused numerous road and school closures, traffic collisions and power outages throughout Lake County.
At various times Thursday, state highway closures included Highway 29 between the Lake-Napa county border and Highway 175 in Middletown, Highway 29 between Kit”s Corner and Seigler Canyon Road on the Glasgow Grade, Highway 29 between Spruce Grove Road North and Spruce Grove Road South on the Coyote Grade, Highway 175 between Kelseyville and Middletown, and Highway 20 between the Highway 53 junction and the Lake-Colusa county border.
Highway 29 between the Lake-Napa border and Highway 175 Middletown, and Highway 175 between the Highway 29 intersection and five miles west of Middletown were the only remaining highway closures reported by Caltrans as of 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Caltrans advised snow tires or chains if traveling on most sections of Highway 175.
At various times Thursday, the county reported road closures throughout Kelseyville, Clearlake, Lower Lake, Middletown and Cobb.
Lake County Road Superintendent Stephen Stangland reported at 5:30 p.m. Thursday that Butts Canyon Road, Soda Bay Road and all roads in Clear Lake Riviera and Riviera Heights, which had been closed Thursday, had re-opened.
Partial road closures still existed on Anderson Springs Road, Point Lakeview Road, Seigler Canyon Road and Bottle Rock Road because of downed power lines, Stangland reported at that time.
Stangland said that 12 plow vehicles were scheduled to work throughout the night to clear local roads in the Middletown and Cobb Mountain areas.
The county had around 30 workers plowing different sections of roadways in Clearlake, Lower Lake, Kelseyville and Cobb throughout the day Thursday, and Caltrans had crews addressing highway accessibility issues in the county, according to Stangland.
The access to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake via 18th Avenue was a county priority and remained open throughout the day, Stangland said.
Early in the afternoon Thursday, Stangland said there was an “unconfirmed report of all roads in and out of the county being closed.”
In the late morning Thursday, county crews reported more than five inches of snow on the road on Highway 53, four to six inches in Middletown, three inches in Lower Lake, more than one foot in Cobb and more than three inches in Clear Lake Riviera, Buckingham, Riviera West and Riviera Heights.
There were reports of multiple downed power lines and fallen trees in various areas, including Clearlake, Kelseyville and Cobb, and numerous accidents and reports of cars off of roadways throughout the south county, between Kelseyville and Clearlake Oaks.
Detours and road closures because of downed power lines, utility poles and trees occurred throughout the day and continued into the night. Some of the downed power lines caused outages that continued Thursday night.
The weather conditions also affected access to local schools. The county”s Office of Education reported that schools in Cobb, Lower Lake, Kelseyville, Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks were closed Thursday. Schools in Middletown and Hidden Valley Lake dismissed students and staff early, according to one Office of Education report. Schools in Upper Lake and Lakeport remained open, the office said.
The National Weather Service predicted for most of the county, as of 8:30 p.m. Thursday, a 70-percent chance of precipitation (either rain or snow showers) for Thursday night and a 50-percent chance for today. Notifications of school closures today will be made available by 6:30 a.m. today, the Office of Education said.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
