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CHP weathering public’s road-closure complaints |
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Wednesday, 13 February 2008 |
 Heavy winds and blinding snow at higher elevations along U.S. 395 during a four-day period from Jan. 25-28 caused the California Highway Patrol to enforce several complete road closures. During the most intense periods of weather, visibility was zero and up to 100 vehicles were stranded along the highway. As the weather cleared periodically, the CHP was able to conduct escorts for motorists (above) that were headed into or away from the most impacted stretches of the road. Photo by Susan Morning, Mammoth Times By Ken Koerner
Register Staff 2-12-2008 Cold winter storms are a driving force in heating up the economy of the Eastern Sierra. Heavy snowfalls corrolate with heavy traffic on U.S. 395, bringing visitors to spend their time on the slopes and their dollars at local businesses. Yet, sometimes, too much of a good thing brings along its own set of problems.
Recent weather patterns delivered the resort slopes a lot of powder. They also delivered significant public safety concerns that caused the closure of U.S. 395 on repeated occasions during a four-day period from Jan. 25- 28.
“We know it causes difficulty for travelers, locals in the area, skiers and business traffic,” California Highway Patrol Public Affairs Officer Jennifer Steel said, “but this was among the worst weather and road conditions we’ve seen around here for a long time. We have to put public safety first, no matter the potential for inconvenience.”
It wasn’t only recreational visitors to the area and travelers relying on U.S. 395 to get between Reno and Southern California that were impacted. When conditions have deteriorated to the point where even CHP escorts can no longer keep traffic safely moving, those living in the Owens Valley that commute to jobs in Mammoth Lakes are especially impacted.
“The CHP received a lot of calls from locals that were very unhappy with the closures, with some feeling that they could have gotten to work, even with the weather conditions,” said Steel. “What isn’t always kept in mind by those complaining is how different the conditions may be up ahead, not only where we’ve put the closure in place.”
Several recent meetings among Town of Mammoth Lakes officials, local Mammoth business interests, residents and public agencies like the Mammoth Lakes Police Department, the Mono County Sherrif’s Office, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol have been focusing on recent weather considerations and agency responses to them.
Questions about how best to address public safety and road conditions had arisen in the days following a decision to employ Mammoth’s reverse-911 system to alert the public to extreme winter storm warnings. The reverse-911 calls went out over the period of Jan. 10-12. Due to the volume of calls the system was required to make, it took more than a single day to accomplish all of the contacts. Though there were complaints about its use and a lack of advance notification to key businesses, like grocery stores, the consensus view heard in the wake of those meetings was that erring on the side of public safety has to be considered ahead of issues of commerce and inconvenience.
“The ‘reverse 911’ alert may have caused some reduction in visitor levels and we take that factor seriously,” Steel said, “but if it’s a safety issue we have to let people know. We have to let the public know that they may end up unable to get to their destination, or get back from their destination and that they must also be prepared to ‘shelter in place’ for a time until conditions improve.” Sheltering-in-place is the designation used when movement is not an option during a storm.
While the debate may continue for some about the choice to issue that reverse-911, the road closures, explained Steel, were “absolutely unavoidable.”
“At one point we had over 100 vehicles stranded along U.S. 395 in the Mammoth area,” Steel said. “There was no way that we could risk allowing any other motorists up into that area, no matter how familiar they may feel they are with driving in blizzard conditions in the Eastern Sierra.”
While the CHP has the ultimate responsibility in deciding when road closures should go into effect, the CHP is not alone in making that decision. “When it comes to U.S. 395 and the Eastern Sierra, we confer with Caltrans on an ongoing basis,” Steel said, “and we’re also in contact with the Nevada roads department and the Nevada Highway Patrol.”
The recent road closures Steel explained were not entirely based upon the rate at which the snow was falling, but rather the combination of a heavy snowfall with very high winds. “The major reason forcing the closure of U.S. 395 came down to the winds,” Steel said. “Snow was drifting six feet deep on long stretches of the highway and there were long periods of zero visibility. We had vehicles being blown off the road, and people calling 911 to say they were stuck but didn’t really know just where they were. It was a serious situation that has to be anticipated during winter months in this mountainous area. And there’s nothing the CHP can do about it, rather than try to ensure the public is aware of what we’re facing out there.”
In Steel’s role as the public affairs officer for the Bishop CHP District, Steel explained that she uses all of the media resources available to attempt to get the information about conditions, expected or already occuring, to the public. “I was in touch with the local radio stations and with the newspaper (The Inyo Register) but not everyone listens to local stations or has noticed that mention in print,” said Steel. “A lot of people, especially the traveling public, may be listening to XM radio or music of their own. We try and get it communicated but there are limitations.”
Anticipation and planning are crucial, explained Steel, for businesses and individuals that are seriously impacted when roads can’t be kept open. “When the storm warnings and the weather conditions are predicted to get extreme, being ready to cope with that situation makes all the difference,” Steel said. “The Mammoth Lakes Police Department recognized the risk was there for a road closure – we all knew a week ahead of time that the Weather Service said get ready for this storm – so what the MLPD arranged was for some of their officers that live in or near Bishop to be housed in Mammoth. This way they could be assured of having the staff needed to contend with whatever came their way.”
According to Steel, the CHP is planning coordination meetings with Caltrans, city officials along the northern section of the U.S. 395 corridor, as well as the Nevada Highway Patrol and the Nevada Department of Transportation that will ensure communications are more effectively shared among the concerned entities.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 31 March 2008 )
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