Avalanches Close Mountain Highway

An eight-mile stretch of Angeles Crest Highway, from La Canada Flintridge to Angeles Forest Highway, will be closed until further notice because of avalanches, Caltrans officials said Thursday.

Using aerial surveillance to assess conditions of the mountain pass, Caltrans maintenance supervisors saw three or four avalanches Thursday that were larger than one Wednesday, which they estimated was 20 feet deep and spread 100 feet to 200 feet across the roadway.

Wednesday’s avalanche occurred about half a mile above the 6,000-foot level. The others occurred at higher elevations, officials said.

A cold winter storm earlier in the week dropped the snow level to 1,500 feet. At its highest point, the highway reaches an altitude of 8,200 feet, Caltrans officials said.

The snowpack is so deep in some areas that Caltrans is renting heavy earthmoving equipment from a firm in Fontana to clear the road, but there is no estimate on when the highway will be reopened, officials said.