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ENLARGE
People play in the snow Monday morning at Pioneer Park in Nevada City. For more storm photos, go to www.TheUnion.com/photos.
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ENLARGE
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Harry Bulick puts chains on his Ace Propane truck Monday morning.
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A major winter storm knocked out power to more than 11,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers in western Nevada County on Monday and will be followed by more snow showers today.
The National Weather Service in Sacramento said today’s showers are only expected to bring another inch of accumulation to the snowfall, which ranged from one foot deep in Cedar Ridge to two inches at North San Juan after Sunday and Monday’s storms.
Busy PG&E crews were restoring power piecemeal through Monday and brought electricity back to 9,200 customers by late in the day, Swanson said. Crews were busy clearing snow-laden trees that had fallen into power lines, Swanson told the Union.
The original outage knocked out service to 11,200 homes. There were 30 outages initially impacting 6,500 customers in Grass Valley and 15 outages in Nevada City affecting 4,700 users, Swanson said.
The largest part of the outage was east of Brunswick Road, along Banner Lava Cap Road and Red Dog Road, Swanson said. He urged caution when dealing with fallen power lines.
“Remember that downed lines could be energized; if you see them, call 911 immediately,” Swanson said. “They could be hidden in a downed tree or snow, so be alert.”
All area schools were closed Monday. To find out if a school is closed today or not, see The Union’s Web site, TheUnion.com, for the information.
Chain controls were in effect Monday on Highway 20 from the Highway 49 junction in Nevada City to Interstate 80 in the Sierra, according to the California Highway Patrol. I-80 had chain controls from Applegate to the Nevada state line. Highway 49 had chain controls from about four miles north of Camptonville through Downieville to the Sierra-Plumas counties line.
Chain controls can be imposed on Sierra highways during snowstorms. To find out which highways are treacherous today, travelers can call the CHP road conditions at 1-800-427-7623.
Only one injury accident was reported by the CHP since the snow began Sunday.
On Sunday, at 11:10 a.m., Kayla Templeton, 20, of Millville, was westbound on Highway 20 between Grass Valley and Penn Valley at an unsafe speed in rain and snow when she lost control, the CHP said.
Templeton’s Toyota SUV smacked a guardrail, went over it and rolled down a steep embankment, the CHP said. She was extricated from the vehicle and treated for a broken arm at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital.
The Monday morning commute in western Nevada County saw no major accidents, according to the CHP Web site, but several traffic hazards were reported with vehicles stuck or off the roadway during the day. They included:.
• At 1:27 p.m., a vehicle skidded off of Dog Bar Road near Lorie Drive.
• At 1:06 p.m. two vehicles were blocking Highway 20 near the White Cloud Campground.
• A non-injury collision was reported at 11:13 a.m. on Idaho-Maryland Road at Madrone Forest Drive. The crash caused the CHP to ask for the Nevada County Road Department to put sand down on the steep and slippery hill there.
Another non-injury collision occurred at 9:30 a.m. at Alta Sierra Drive at Little Valley Road, with a pickup truck ending up on its side. Another wreck with no one hurt happened at 10:09 a.m. when a vehicle slid off Highway 49 just north of Cement Hill Road at the Rood Center.
The Rood Center was open Monday, but a regularly scheduled meeting of the Assessment Appeals Board was canceled.
About eight inches of snow had fallen from Sunday to Monday in mid-Grass Valley, where one gauge measured the wet snow as 1.9 inches of water.
A hard freeze is possible tonight and Wednesday morning as skies clear and overnight temperatures remain in the 20s, the weather service said. Temperatures are not expected to climb above the mid-40s through Saturday.
Rain showers are predicted for the foothills Wednesday through Friday night, with snow in the higher elevations. Ski resorts at Donner Pass and the Lake Tahoe area reported an additional two feet of snow and lifts were open and operating.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237. To contact Editor Jeff Pelline, e-mail jpelline@theunion.com or call 477-4235.
The National Weather Service in Sacramento said today’s showers are only expected to bring another inch of accumulation to the snowfall, which ranged from one foot deep in Cedar Ridge to two inches at North San Juan after Sunday and Monday’s storms.
Busy PG&E crews were restoring power piecemeal through Monday and brought electricity back to 9,200 customers by late in the day, Swanson said. Crews were busy clearing snow-laden trees that had fallen into power lines, Swanson told the Union.
The original outage knocked out service to 11,200 homes. There were 30 outages initially impacting 6,500 customers in Grass Valley and 15 outages in Nevada City affecting 4,700 users, Swanson said.
The largest part of the outage was east of Brunswick Road, along Banner Lava Cap Road and Red Dog Road, Swanson said. He urged caution when dealing with fallen power lines.
“Remember that downed lines could be energized; if you see them, call 911 immediately,” Swanson said. “They could be hidden in a downed tree or snow, so be alert.”
All area schools were closed Monday. To find out if a school is closed today or not, see The Union’s Web site, TheUnion.com, for the information.
Chain controls were in effect Monday on Highway 20 from the Highway 49 junction in Nevada City to Interstate 80 in the Sierra, according to the California Highway Patrol. I-80 had chain controls from Applegate to the Nevada state line. Highway 49 had chain controls from about four miles north of Camptonville through Downieville to the Sierra-Plumas counties line.
Chain controls can be imposed on Sierra highways during snowstorms. To find out which highways are treacherous today, travelers can call the CHP road conditions at 1-800-427-7623.
Only one injury accident was reported by the CHP since the snow began Sunday.
On Sunday, at 11:10 a.m., Kayla Templeton, 20, of Millville, was westbound on Highway 20 between Grass Valley and Penn Valley at an unsafe speed in rain and snow when she lost control, the CHP said.
Templeton’s Toyota SUV smacked a guardrail, went over it and rolled down a steep embankment, the CHP said. She was extricated from the vehicle and treated for a broken arm at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital.
The Monday morning commute in western Nevada County saw no major accidents, according to the CHP Web site, but several traffic hazards were reported with vehicles stuck or off the roadway during the day. They included:.
• At 1:27 p.m., a vehicle skidded off of Dog Bar Road near Lorie Drive.
• At 1:06 p.m. two vehicles were blocking Highway 20 near the White Cloud Campground.
• A non-injury collision was reported at 11:13 a.m. on Idaho-Maryland Road at Madrone Forest Drive. The crash caused the CHP to ask for the Nevada County Road Department to put sand down on the steep and slippery hill there.
Another non-injury collision occurred at 9:30 a.m. at Alta Sierra Drive at Little Valley Road, with a pickup truck ending up on its side. Another wreck with no one hurt happened at 10:09 a.m. when a vehicle slid off Highway 49 just north of Cement Hill Road at the Rood Center.
The Rood Center was open Monday, but a regularly scheduled meeting of the Assessment Appeals Board was canceled.
About eight inches of snow had fallen from Sunday to Monday in mid-Grass Valley, where one gauge measured the wet snow as 1.9 inches of water.
A hard freeze is possible tonight and Wednesday morning as skies clear and overnight temperatures remain in the 20s, the weather service said. Temperatures are not expected to climb above the mid-40s through Saturday.
Rain showers are predicted for the foothills Wednesday through Friday night, with snow in the higher elevations. Ski resorts at Donner Pass and the Lake Tahoe area reported an additional two feet of snow and lifts were open and operating.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237. To contact Editor Jeff Pelline, e-mail jpelline@theunion.com or call 477-4235.
