LOCAL : Thousands Stranded as Ice and Snow Shut Down 40 Miles of I-5

Heavy snowfall and ice caused several minor accidents and closed a 40-mile stretch of the Golden State Freeway between Castaic and the northern end of the Grapevine near Frazier Park this morning.

Interstate 5 was closed at 2:45 a.m., and California Highway Patrol officers escorted motorists through the icy area beginning at 7 a.m., Lt. Robert Caldwell said. The freeway was not completely opened until 11 a.m., he said.

The freeway closure delayed thousands of motorists, including hundreds of big rigs that lined nearby roads and truck stops.

About 150 trucks were marooned on the freeway when they could not get traction on the ice near Castaic, Caldwell said, and two trucks jackknifed. Caldwell said several automobiles were involved in minor accidents. No injuries were reported.

“The roadway was solidly covered with ice,” CHP Officer Andrew Kenny said.

Kenny said California Department of Transportation plows were used to clear the ice while CHP patrol cars escorted lines of 200 vehicles at a time through the closure area.

The town of Castaic remained clogged with trucks and cars throughout the morning.

“This town is closed down,” Rodney Waane, lane attendant at the Giant Truck Stop, said shortly before the freeway opened. “All the roads are solid trucks. Everybody is waiting. There’s about 70 trucks in our lot and 300 more out on the street, backed up on the freeway ramp.

“They aren’t going anywhere.”