PORTER RANCH : Sheep Block Freeway Commute Traffic

The commute on the Simi Valley Freeway got a bit woolly Monday morning when a flock of 30 to 50 sheep wandered on to the freeway, blocking westbound traffic for about 20 minutes.

The sheep escaped from a nearby pasture about 7:50 a.m. and walked onto the westbound lanes of the freeway near the Reseda Boulevard exit, said California Highway Patrol Officer Jayne Bartholme.

Twenty minutes later, two Highway Patrol cars and a tow truck arrived to herd the flock off the roadway, she said.

In the past, an occasional sheep has wandered into traffic in that same stretch of freeway, Bartholme said. But Monday was the first time that an entire flock made the commute onto the freeway, she said.

No sheep has ever been hit in any of the incidents, Bartholme said.