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UPDATED AT 1:40 P.M. WITH INFORMATION FROM PG&E ON OUTAGES.
UPDATED AT 2:40 P.M. WITH INFORMATION REGARDING KELSEYVILLE UNIFIED.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Trees on houses, downed utility lines and power outages, vehicles stuck on roads, and heavy snow and rain dominated Thursday morning in Lake County.
Firefighters, law enforcement, and state and county road crews spent the day's first half responding to the fallout from a more fierce than expected winter storm that pounded the region, dropping snow on half of the county and rain on the rest of it.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning that remains in effect until midnight, warning of more snow.
The agency had predicted snow at the 1,500 foot level and above, noting the possibility that it could stretch down to Clear Lake, about 200 feet lower. Area residents reported that the snow did, in fact, hit lake level.
Due to downed power lines, there were numerous reports of power outages around the county.
In a statement issued just before 1:30 p.m. Pacific Gas & Electric reported that approximately 16,000 customers were out of power due to weather conditions, with a number of outages not yet assessed due to inaccessibility.
The company reported they are deploying more trucks from the south, but with the closure of Highway 29 they weren't expecting them to arrive until 3 p.m.
PG&E said its crews are focusing on highly impacted areas and sensitive customers, including area hospitals, the jail, and city and county buildings.
The California Highway Patrol reported hazardous conditions on area roadways due to loose boulders, closed lanes, downed power lines and trees, and snow.
The early morning snow saw a Lake Transit bus caught stuck in the middle of Highway 29 just south of Diener Drive near Lower Lake, with several other vehicles, including a big rig, also trapped, the CHP reported. The roadway was closed for a time as the vehicles were helped to get out of the snow.
Clearlake and Lower Lake were hit by heavy snow, with county Road Superintendent Steve Stangland reporting up to 6 inches of snow on the stretch of Highway 53 that passes through the Clearlake area.
Late Thursday morning Stangland said snow closed Butts Canyon Road at Highway 29, with all of Bottle Rock Road closed as well.
He said snow had closed all Cobb-area roads, and in Anderson Springs there were multiple trees across the road.
Point Lakeview and adjoining roads near Lower Lake were being closed both because of snow and downed trees, with the latter taking down phone and utility lines, he said.
Also closed due to snow were Elk Mountain Road at the Middle Creek Campground and Bartlett Springs Road at mile post marker 6, Stangland said.
Stangland's road crews were reporting 3 or more inches of snow in the Clear Lake Riviera, Buckingham, Riviera West and Riviera Heights, with residents later reporting about 6 inches in those areas.
There was also about 3 inches of snow in Lower Lake and between 4 and 6 inches in Middletown late Thursday morning, Stangland said.
He said a priority was keeping 18th Avenue open leading to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake.
He said road crews were trying Thursday morning to get to Middletown, but were having difficulties due to accidents and stopped traffic.
County road crews were simultaneously plowing snow on 18th Avenue in Clearlake, Butts Canyon Road, Soda Bay Road and Highway 281, Siegler Canyon, the Loch Lomond area, Bottle Rock Road, Point Lakeview Road and the Clear Lake Riviera, Stangland said.
As of 1 p.m., Caltrans was reporting chains or snow tires are required on Highway 175 from 5.5 miles east of the junction with US 101 in Mendocino County to 1.8 miles west of the Lake/Mendocino County line on the Hopland Grade.
Also on Highway 175, Caltrans said chains or snow tires were required from seven miles west to four miles west of Middletown.
Highway 175 was closed from the south junction of Highway 29 to Middletown due to downed power lines, with a detour available, Caltrans said.
Highway 20 was closed at the junction with Highway 53 due to a crash, but the rest of the highway remained open but with chain requirements on all vehicles except four-wheel drive with snow tires from the Lake/Colusa County line to E Street in Williams.
Caltrans reported that Highway 29 was closed from 5.5 miles south of the Napa/Lake County line to the junction of Highway 175 in Middletown due to snow. Motorists were advised to use an alternate route.
The agency also issued a chain or snow tires requirement for vehicles traveling along Highway 29 from 7.6 miles north of Middletown to five miles south of the junction with Highway 53.
Radio reports indicated numerous downed power and utility lines crisscrossing the Clearlake area, with the city's Avenues area form 18th through 40th mostly accessible by one roadway, Davis Avenue, as firefighters tried to get to emergency calls.
In the Clear Lake Riviera, a blown transformer early in the afternoon reportedly set materials in the backyard of a residence, according to radio reports.
Snow in parts of the county resulted in school closures.
Middletown Unified closed Cobb Elementary first thing in the morning and put all other schools on a minimum day schedule, with the district reporting just after 11 a.m. that most of the students had gone home already due to the snow.
Phone calls to Konocti Unified went unanswered, but parents reported children in that district were home because schools there were closed.
Kelseyville Unified Superintendent Dave McQueen said all district schools were closed because of the weather, which also had knocked out power to the district offices from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. He said he sent everyone home as a result.
Lakeport Unified reported that schools remained open and in session on Thursday.
Lake County News is continuing to follow developments, and is posting updates to its Facebook and Twitter accounts, which are linked to a feed located on the upper lefthand side of the Lake County News homepage.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .
