Travelers wait for clearer conditions along I-80 in Sierra
COLFAX — The snow had many people at a halt on I-80 heading eastbound Saturday evening. Caltrans closed the interstate between Colfax and the Nevada state line after multiple spinouts in the snow.
Only locals heading as far as Nyack were allowed through.
"We are trying to head home," said Miguel Salgado who was trying to get his family home to Reno. "Obviously we are stuck, so, been here for the last three hours."
Caltrans said anyone traveling to Reno or Truckee was out of the question Saturday night.
"I just bought new tires, studded tires, so hopefully they would let us by, but that did not work either," said Salgado.
This was not the snow trip most families had planned.
"We were going to go skiing, but unfortunately, we have been stuck for four hours already," said Javad Zolfagharr who was stuck in Colfax with his family.
Some people pulled off in Colfax were making the most of the closure by having snowball fights and sledding. Meanwhile, thousands in Grass Valley were still waiting for the power to come back.
"It's not bad because I have a generator," said Stacy Fore who lives in Grass Valley. "It pretty much runs the house. We just have to be careful with fuel."
Fore was filling up her tanks with gas in Colfax on Saturday. She told CBS13 finding fuel has been a challenge.
"I actually went to Rocklin because it is just easier to go down the hill sometimes," said Fore.
Traffic on I-80 westbound also took a lot longer than usual on Saturday.
"What normally takes me three hours took me a little over double," said one truck driver who was pulled off to the side of the road.
He was removing the chains from his truck after a dangerous drive down the mountain.
"I have seen a couple of truck drivers and car drivers on their cell phone during the snowstorm," said the truck driver. "We are told to go 30 miles per hour. I have a radar gun on the front, and I have clocked in some people going 50 on ice."
Caltrans does not have an exact time for when I-80 east will reopen. A worker told CBS13 it might not be until sometime on Sunday.
