Storm Causes at Least 35 Freeway Accidents

Drivers struggling with wet roads slid across Ventura County highways Friday, causing at least 35 minor traffic accidents on local freeways, the California Highway Patrol said.

Although authorities reported no human fatalities, two cows were killed Thursday night after wandering out of a nearby pasture onto the Ventura Freeway near La Conchita.

Friday’s flash of rainstorms, which hit the county for only a brief period and dumped no more than half an inch of precipitation, should be mostly over by today, according to Dave Bruno, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

He said temperatures should be from the mid-50s to the low-60s along the coast and inland.

The weather will be warm enough Sunday to play football instead of just watch it, with highs in the mid-60s and some cloudy skies.

In Thursday’s 9:30 p.m. crash, two cows wandered onto the freeway after the saturated ground caused a barbed-wire fence to fall, according to CHP spokesman Dave Webb. A big rig driving south hit the first cow, and the second was hit by three cars about five minutes later.

The cold Pacific storm, the second to hit the area in three days, also blanketed low-lying foothills with snow.

But a third storm that had been expected to hit the Southland on Monday appears headed for the Pacific Northwest, said meteorologist Alan Shoemaker, with Wisconsin-based Weather Central.

There were apparently no weather-related fatalities as of Friday evening, despite hundreds of accidents throughout the region, authorities said.

For snow lovers, the storm proved a blessing, making for the second weekend in a row of prime snowboarding and skiing at Southland resorts.

“These are classic midwinter skiing conditions,” said Chris Riddle, marketing director at Snow Summit Mountain Resort in Big Bear Lake. “There’s snow in the trees and every run is open.”

Authorities warn that drivers will probably need snow tires and chains today in higher elevations because the snow is not expected to taper off before this afternoon.

More than 2,000 youngsters in the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District rejoiced at seeing the rare white stuff Friday, which caused school to be canceled after the snow started sticking to the ground just as buses were getting ready to roll at 6:45 a.m.

Schools Close, Roads Stay Open

“It was beautiful, if you didn’t have to drive in it,” said Kathi Campbell, a district accountant technician who was among the few employees who reported to work before the “snow day” was called.

Campbell said an “inch or two” of snow halted classes at five schools in the rural High Desert region. “It happens about once a year,” she said.

The mile-high Escondido Summit at Acton serves as the main route for commuters from the Antelope Valley to the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys and Los Angeles. Despite the snow there, the route remained open for morning travelers, the California Highway Patrol said.

The CHP also kept close watch on conditions along Interstate 5 through the Grapevine, which remained open Friday afternoon.

“We’re prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best,” said Sgt. Rick Sirovy of the CHP’s Newhall office.

The San Fernando Valley had relatively few weather-related crashes.

“We haven’t had any serious accidents today,” said Sgt. Ed Wheelis of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division. “Maybe a few more fender-benders than usual, but that’s about it.”

Snow and fog contributed to several accidents on a stretch of Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass in San Bernardino County on Friday afternoon.

In Orange County, pounding rain and scattered thundershowers caused numerous fender-benders, including a chain of as many as eight accidents involving up to 30 vehicles that blocked parts of the Santa Ana Freeway in the afternoon, police said.

In Anaheim, a big rig jackknifed about 3 p.m. on the eastbound Riverside Freeway just west of Weir Canyon Road, triggering a crash that involved six other vehicles, the CHP reported.

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Times correspondent Deniene Husted and staff writers Carol Chambers, Martha Willman and Richard Fausset contributed to this story.

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County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Division for the 24-hour period ending at 8 a.m. Friday . Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

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Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 24 hrs since Weds. since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 2: 0.42 0.82 5.43 6.82 Casitas Dam 2: 0.47 1.28 11.74 11.61 Casitas Rec. Center 2: 0.48 1.45 12.64 11.53 Fillmore 2: 0.38 0.98 9.28 09.48 Matilija Dam 2: 0.44 1.67 13.48 12.90 Moorpark 2: 0.06 0.41 5.80 07.33 Ojai 2: 0.35 1.64 10.65 10.32 Upper Ojai 2: 0.42 1.32 12.61 11.04 Oxnard 2: 0.37 0.73 6.38 07.12 Piru 2: 0.39 0.97 5.56 08.48 Port Hueneme 2: 0.52 0.76 5.30 07.02 Santa Paula 2: 0.41 1.05 8.80 08.71 Simi Valley 2: 0.43 0.92 6.40 07.01 Thousand Oaks 2: 0.48 0.87 5.31 07.53 Ventura Govt. Center 2: 0.39 0.99 7.92 07.88

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