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Winter Storm Lucian Brings Rockslides, More Highway Crashes, Wastewater Spills and Trash on Beaches
Winter Storm Lucian Brings Rockslides, More Highway Crashes, Wastewater Spills and Trash on Beaches
Jan 17, 2024 3:45 PM

At a Glance

Heavy snow and falling trees close all roads in Yosemite.More than 58,000 customers are without power in California. Rockslides have shut down highways in Colorado, California and Arizona.A storm-related power outage led to 19,400 gallons of wastewater spilling into Puget Sound.

This article is no longer being updated. For the latest impacts, click here.

Winter Storm Lucian continued to create hazardous driving conditions Tuesday from the Pacific Coast into the Midwest and it led to the closing of all roads in Yosemite National Park.

The storm is also connected to a spill of more than 19,000 gallons of wastewater into Puget Sound on Washington's coast.

Yosemite National Park tweeted that because of heavy snow and fallen trees. Visitors in the park were urged to stay indoors. The park also tweeted video of a giant rockfall Monday at Sentinel Rock that it said was probably caused by the heavy rain over the weekend.

A rockslide dumped large boulders onto Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, early Tuesday, causing the highway to be closed in both directions under shortly before noon local time, the Colorado State Patrol reported.

A rockslide also had traffic backed up in each direction on U.S. 60 near Miami, Arizona, about 20 miles east of Phoenix.

(MORE: Where Winter Storm Lucian Will Head Next)

Near Flagstaff, southbound Interstate 17 was blocked by a jackknifed tractor-trailer The state Transportation Department also said multiple vehicles had slid off the interstate near Mund Park. Earlier, a portion of Interstate 10 was temporarily closed because of an accident.

Icy drizzle was blamed for numerous crashes and rollovers on highways in Wichita, Kansas. The state Highway Patrol reported accidents on state highway K-96, Interstate 135 and K-254 about 9 a.m. Tuesday (local time). It also said there were multiple rollovers on Interstate 235. The Wichita Police Department said there were several crashes on Kellogg Street.

Several Kansas City area school districts planned to close early Tuesday because of freezing rain approaching the region.

Crashes and spinouts continued overnight and into the early morning in the Northwest, and several major roadways remained closed.

Interstate 80, which was closed from Applegate, California, to the Nevada state line most of Monday and overnight, reopened in both directions about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday (local time).

Even the San Francisco Bay Area and wine country in Napa County got rare dustings of snow. Snow fell overnight on Mount Hamilton, Mount Diablo and Mount Tamalpais. Some of the regions highest peaks got up to four inches of snow. Two to three inches of snow was sticking to State Road 29 north of Calistoga in Napa County.

In the Santa Cruz Mountains, State Road 17 was closed for about 45 minutes until snowplows could clear the highway.

California Highway Patrol pacer cars were escorting traffic over the Tejon Pass on the Grapevine portion of Interstate 5. The state DOT said the interstate may close if snow starts sticking.

A large boulder fell onto State Road 84 in Fremont, California, and caused a collision, ABC 7 reported. The Alameda County Fire said the road could be shut down in both directions for a day or two. All of the San Francisco Bay Area was experiencing a messy morning commute.

State Route 38 (San Gabriel Canyon Road) shut down Tuesday because of a rockslide that spilled across all lanes at East Fork Road. State Route 150 remained closed between Reeves Road in Ojai and Stonegate Road in Santa Paula because of a boulder in the road.

Other roadways that remained closed as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday (local time) included the right lane of northbound U.S. 101 from State Beaches to Seacliff; State Road 33 from Fairview Road to Lockwood Valley Road, State Road 23 from PCH to upper Mulholland Highway, and State Road 27 (Topanga Canyon Boulevard) from PCH to Grand View Drive, CalTrans tweeted. State Route 2 was closed from Los Angeles County to San Bernardino County because of snow.

A tree fell out of the rain-soaked ground in Los Angeles and , KTLA reported.

The rain has also washed trash into storm drains that are , KTLA said in a separate report. Tony Soriano with the environmental advocacy group Surfrider Foundation said the trash on the beach includes strollers, baby diapers, syringes and a couch.

“We had people who surfed out here sitting on the couch … just making a joke out of it,” he told KTLA.

California was the only state with major power outages on Tuesday. More than had no electricity as of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us.

The storm caused a power outage Monday night at a wastewater pump station north of Seattle, the Associated Press reported. That led to 19,400 of gallons of wastewater spilling into Puget Sound, the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks said. An employee was able to reset pump operations, AP said, and the spill was reported to health and regulatory agencies.

Overnight, multiple vehicles got stuck on an icy road in Reno, Nevada. Police there , KOLO-TV reported.

At least five ski resorts in the eastern Sierra and Tahoe closed Monday because of blizzard conditions. June Mountain Ski Resort, which saw 6 to 8 feet of new snow, and Kirkwood Mountain Resort, with a foot of new snow, were both closed for the day.

Most runs and the Main Lodge at Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes, with nearly 7 feet of new snow, closed Monday. In the Tahoe area, Squaw Valley and Alpine resorts closed.

As the snow pushed east, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak closed all state offices in Carson City Monday afternoon, the AP said. The offices in Carson City, Washoe County and Douglas County didn't open until 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Interstate 15 in Idaho was , the state's Transportation Department tweeted, because of blowing snow, icy conditions and low visibility.

The tweet also said a semitrailer truck had jackknifed. was closed for about 24 hours from Ashton to the Montana state line because of blowing and drifting snow. Eastbound State Road 33 was closed at the Wyoming border for avalanche control work.

Washington Highway Patrol troopers responded to n King County on Monday, KOMO-TV reported. There was a number of near Lynnwood, about 15 miles north of Seattle. Southbound I-5 was near Everett. Several collisions were reported.

A lone car finds its way along an otherwise deserted street through snow and a cold wind Monday morning, Feb. 4, 2019, in Seattle.

(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport had 3 inches of snow by early Monday. More than 246 flights into and out of the airport, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

Snow totals were higher north of the city, with 10 inches reported in North Bend, 8 in Marysville and 6 in Redmond.

Many Washington students woke up to learn they had a snow day, as dozens of districts canceled classes because of the snow. Government offices also closed in many locations.

Light snow fell in the Portland, Oregon, area late Monday. Several cars collided on, KATU reported. The snow was expected to melt and refreeze over night, making roads icy for the Tuesday morning commute.

Flooding twice between First Street and County Road P east of Willows in Glenn County.

An overturned vehicle is seen at a scene of a fatal accident, where a volunteer member of the Ventura County search and rescue team was killed, along Interstate Highway 5 south of Pyramid Lake, California, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

State Highway 154 will be closed indefinitely between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez after debris and water filled a culvert on Saturday, damaging the highway.

All this is being caused by the second of two powerful storm systems. , bringing downpours and high winds to much of California.

On Saturday, power was knocked out for tens of thousands, evacuation orders were issued and heavy rain, snow and high winds made driving treacherous.

A Ventura County search-and-rescue team member on northbound Interstate 5 near Gorman, ABC 7 reported. Two other team members were injured, one of them critically and the other had minor injuries. The group, on their way to a training exercise, saw another crash and stopped to help. Another vehicle plowed into them. At least six other people were involved in the crashes that occurred near Pyramid Lake during a heavy rainstorm. Their conditions were unavailable.

The sheriff's office , a volunteer with the Fillmore Mountain Search and Rescue Team, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Dawn Arnold waits for her bus as snow continues to fall on Feb. 6, 2019 in Denver, Colo. Cold temperatures and snow are in the forecast the next few days in the Denver area. (RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

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