15 Freeway through Cajon Pass reopens in both directions after heavy snowfall
The 15 Freeway through the Cajon Pass was opened in both directions Thursday afternoon, Dec. 26, after a a powerful winter storm churned through the area.
Drivers were advised by Caltrans to use caution.
“Conditions will be icy this afternoon and tonight into tomorrow,” the agency warned in a tweet issued shortly after 2 p.m. announcing the northbound lanes, scraped by bulldozers and sprinkled with gravel, were opened to traffic.
If conditions become too icy, lanes could close again, Caltrans warned.
The 15 Freeway, the major ground link between Southern California and Las Vegas, was closed in the early morning northbound at Cleghorn Road. Southbound lanes also were closed at Ranchero Road in Hesperia, but those were opened again midmorning. The 15 Freeway was closed in both directions between Baker and Primm, Nevada, at 4 p.m. because of icy roads and traffic collisions.
Expand
Several other Inland-area roadways were shut down because of weather, and vehicles in the mountains are required to carry chains or have them on their tires, Caltrans said.
Caltrans snowplow crews set to work in the Cajon Pass in the predawn hours. The agency had announced closure of the lanes just before 6 a.m., but drivers had already been caught in stopped traffic as the snow fell.
There also was snow in the San Bernardino Mountains and it was expected to intensify Thursday afternoon. “The mountains have been hit hard, and it’s going to get worse,” Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga said.
Some mountain resorts in the area were closed Thursday, including Mountain High in Wrightwood, since roads to get to them were inaccessible.
The CHP was reporting incidents such as an SUV stuck in a snow bank at the junction of highways 18 and 138 south of Crestline; several vehicles blocking lanes of Highway 38 east of the Barton Flats Campground, and vehicles backed up on Highway 330 south of Running Springs at a chain control point.
Hesperia resident Robert J. McClelland was on his way home just after 8 a.m., saying in a hands-free cell phone call that he had started out his job in Ontario at 4:15 a.m., but got no further on the 15 Freeway than Ranchero Road in Hesperia before waiting and waiting, then finally turning back.
“My boss had contacted me via text message, and said ‘If you can turn around and go home, turn around and go home. There’s is no way you are going to get to Ontario from Hesperia,’” he said.
McClelland said California Highway Patrol officers guided cars off both the on- and off-ramps at Ranchero Road to clear the freeway.
Heading back home, he said the desert floor was coated with snow. “This is my first time experiencing this. I like the weather, I like the snow, but Mother Nature, she takes her course,” McClelland said.
There also was heavy snowfall in the Morongo Valley and Yucca Valley, with snow reported on highways 62 and 247, Kasinga said.
Joshua Tree National Park said late Thursday morning its entrances were open only to four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicles due to snow, ice and rain.
Inside the park, Keys View, Odelle, Big Horn, and Pine City roads were all closed, and other roads were subject to closure. The park’s Keys Ranch Tour was canceled for Thursday and likely will be canceled Friday as well, according to park officials.
To the north, the 5 Freeway at Parker Road in Castaic to Grapevine Road in Kern County remained closed Thursday midafternoon.
Vehicles traveling mountain highways will have to be equipped with tire chains, Caltrans said.
Also closed by snow or flooding:
• Highway 138, from the 15 Freeway to Beekley Road in Pinon Hills
• Pico Avenue Road between Central Avenue and Nuevo Road in Nuevo, in Riverside County.
• Palomar Road between Patti Lane and Benigini Avenue near Romoland in Riverside County.
• Painted Canyon Road at Box Canyon Road east of Mecca in Riverside County.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains, according to the National Weather Service, including the Big Bear area, Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, and Wrightwood.
The warning is expected to last until 6 a.m. on Friday, with warning of heavy snow.
“Travel will be very difficult to impossible. Tree branches could fall as well,” According to the NWS warning. Additional snow accumulations up to 12 inches could fall below 4,000 feet, 14-to-20 inches between 4,500 and 6,500 feet, and exceeding 2 feet above 7,000 feet.
A Winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather conditions are occurring, the NWS website reads. “If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency,” it reads.
Staff writer Laylan Connelly contributed to this report.